WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Deputy National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong will visit Washington this week for talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken about North Korea, the State Department announced Tuesday.

The fifth round of U.S.-Korea strategic consultations on North Korea policy, set for Friday, takes place after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in his New Year's address that the country has reached the final stage of preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"The two will discuss the international community's response to North Korea's destabilizing violations of UN Security Council resolutions and review progress in holding North Korea accountable for its unlawful actions," the State Department said in a statement.

Separately, South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam is also scheduled to visit Washington this week for trilateral cooperation talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts -- Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama.

jschang@yna.co.kr

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