By BLOOMBERG

WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump will visit South Korea while in Asia for the Group of 20 summit in late June, the White House said on Wednesday, amid concerns of a breakdown in nuclear talks with North Korea.

Trump will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to discuss the nuclear talks, as well as ways to strengthen the US-South Korea alliance, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Trump is expected to make the visit in conjunction with his travel to Japan for the international summit, where he has said he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The announcement of his South Korea travel comes after a North Korean missile test earlier this week that violated international restrictions championed by Trump.

The move was seen as a provocation after Trump abruptly ended a summit with Kim Jong-un earlier this year, saying the North Korean leader had sought an easing of international sanctions without demonstrating a willingness to dismantle his nuclear programme.

But Trump has downplayed the missile launch earlier this month, saying they were “smaller misses” and that he did not see them as a “violation”.

While both leaders said they’re open to a third summit, the lack of lower-level talks or other signs of progress cast doubt on prospects that the negotiations will yield a deal. — Bloomberg