UPDATE 1-U.S.'s North Korea envoy to visit Japan, South Korea next week

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will travel to Japan and South Korea next week to coordinate efforts to secure the denuclearization of North Korea, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

Biegun will be in Japan from Monday to Tuesday and in Seoul from Tuesday to Thursday, the statement said. News of Biegun's trip came after U.S. President Donald Trump said last Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had told him he was ready to resume stalled denuclearization talks with the United States and would stop recent missile testing as soon as U.S.-South Korea military exercises that have been held this month-end.

The State Department statement made no mention of any talks with North Korea, and the agency did not immediately respond when asked if any were planned during Biegun's trip.