Washington (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet Monday with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan to discuss North Korea.
Officials from China and Russia are not invited, even though they are members of the six-party talks on North Korea.
A senior State Department official, speaking on background because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue, said the meeting is meant to bring together the three "cornerstones of security in the region" and "China should not view this as a snub".North Korea wants six-party talks to resume but the United States has refused, insisting that Pyongyang show it is serious about ending provocations and development of its nuclear program.
The United States has been pressuring China to do more to exert its influence on North Korea and urge Pyonyang to cease its aggressive behavior. Last week, North Korea launched a deadly artillery barrage on a South Korean island. Following that, the U.S. and South Korean participated in military exercise meant as a show of military force.
Clinton will begin Monday with a bilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and then with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara. The three-party meeting at the State Department will follow. CNN
