(VOVworld) – Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yun Byung Se and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed Sunday to cooperate in holding five-way talks with China, Japan, and Russia on the nuclear ambitions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and RoK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in a press conference in Washington October 24, 2014. (Photo: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)

Kerry is scheduled to visit China on Wednesday and is expected to ask China to support tough sanctions against DPRK for the nuclear test it conducted on January 6. RoK President Park Geun Hye proposed the five-way talks Friday. Six-party talks involving the five countries plus the DPRK have been deadlocked since late 2008.