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News about North Korea’s recent missile test plays on a monitor in this undated photo. (AP/Yonhap News)

Following North Korea's successive missile tests in January, top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in person in Hawaii on Thursday to discuss countermeasures.

The US State Department issued a press release on Sunday announcing that Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, will visit Honolulu, Hawaii, from Feb. 10 to Feb. 15.

There, he will meet with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts — Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Japanese Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Funakoshi Takehiro.

The three top envoys will discuss the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the importance of trilateral cooperation between their respective countries, and a resolution to the issue of abductions by the North, the US State Department said.

The planned in-person discussions follow the three representatives’ phone consultation on Jan. 17, amid North Korea's flurry of ballistic missile tests.

The three representatives will also attend a trilateral ministerial-level meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Honolulu on Saturday, in which the US stated that it plans to “reiterate its commitment to regional security and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” according to the State Department.

By Shin Gi-sub, senior staff writer

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