By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Cho Tae-yong, urged North Korea Tuesday to take "actions" to assure that it is serious about denuclearization as he began a three-day trip to Washington for consultations on ways to deal with Pyongyang. "North Korea should show its will for a real denuclearization through actions," Cho, who serves as South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters upon arriving.

SEOUL/BEIJING, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy on Tuesday responded coolly to North Korea's proposal of high-level talks with the United States, saying there should not be "talks for talks' sake" with Pyongyang. Cho Tae-yong, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remarks as he left for Washington for a trilateral meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama.

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy said Tuesday his government opposes talks for the sake of talks with North Korea in the absence of positive signs that it intends to denuclearize, according to Yonhap News Agency.

SEJONG, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will have a meeting with Myanmar this week to discuss ways to expand bilateral economic cooperation, the finance ministry said Tuesday. A delegation of policymakers led by Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok will leave for the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday for the economic cooperation joint committee meeting to be held the following day, according to the ministry. The meeting, the first of its kind between the two countries, is expected to serve as a "control tower" for coordinating bilateral economic cooperation.