Tokyo and Washington are arranging a meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Tokyo next week right after Pompeo's visit to North Korea, Japanese government sources said Friday.

The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday as Pompeo will likely fly to Japan on Monday following his fourth visit to North Korea, according to the sources.

(Mike Pompeo, right, and Stephen Biegun on Aug. 23)
[Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of State]

Arrangements are also under way for Kono and Pompeo to also meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha, possibly also on Tuesday, the sources said.

During the stop in Japan, Pompeo will brief Kono and Kang on what was discussed during his meeting with North Korean officials, the sources said.

Pompeo and Kono are also expected to reaffirm the close cooperation between the two allies, as well as cooperation trilaterally with Kang, and their policies aimed at compelling the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

On Thursday, Pompeo said he will visit North Korea next week in an attempt to accelerate negotiations on dismantling the country's nuclear weapons program. He will be accompanied by Stephen Biegun, who has just been named as the U.S. special representative to North Korea.

Pompeo is heading to Pyongyang as frustration is increasing in Washington over what it sees as North Korea's failure to move resolutely to terminate its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development programs, despite leader Kim Jong Un's commitment to "complete" denuclearization in a landmark summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

                          (Taro Kono)                                                  (Mike Pompeo)
                                                                                               [UPI/Kyodo]