S. Korea, U.S., Japan 'to Hold Talks on N. Korea'

South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold high-level talks in Seoul next week about developments in North Korea following its failed long-range rocket launch, a report said Thursday.

Lim Sung-Nam, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama and the U.S. special envoy on the North Glyn Davies will meet on Monday, Yonhap news agency quoted a foreign ministry official as saying.

A ministry spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Speculation is growing that the North will stage another nuclear test or a border clash after the failure of its much-hyped launch on April 13.

The North said its aim was only to put a peaceful satellite into orbit.

But the U.N. Security Council strongly condemned the launch as breaching a ban on the testing of ballistic missile technology, and tightened sanctions.

The envoys are expected to assess the situation "and discuss the possibility of additional provocations from North Korea", Yonhap quoted the unidentified official as saying.

After the U.N. censured previous rocket launches in 2006 and 2009, Pyongyang responded with nuclear tests. Satellite photos show work under way at its test site but give no indication of whether or when a test will be staged.

The North in recent months has been intensifying threats against South Korea and insulting its conservative President Lee Myung-Bak in extreme terms.

It accuses his government of insulting behavior during celebrations in Pyongyang last month to mark the centenary of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-Sung.