North Korea 'always welcome' at negotiating table, Japan nuclear envoy says

FILE PHOTO: Takehiro Funakoshi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau speaks during a meeting with his South Korean counter part Kim Gunn and U.S. counterpart Sung Kim at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/FIle Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) -North Korea is "always welcome" at the negotiating table even though the threat of further provocation may be looming, Japan's nuclear envoy, Takehiro Funakoshi, said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts.

The three nations, which met in Tokyo to discuss their North Korea strategy, are tightening security cooperation as tension rises in the wake of recent North Korean moves such as an unusual number of missile launches and warnings from the United States that Pyongyang could sell weapons to Russia.