(LEAD) U.S. ambassador to U.N. to visit S. Korea, Japan next week

WASHINGTON/SEOUL, The top U.S. envoy to the United Nations will travel to South Korea and Japan next week for engagements to advance bilateral and trilateral cooperation on North Korean threats and other issues, her office said. During her trip to the Asian allies from Sunday through April 20, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield will reiterate Washington's commitment to addressing regional and global priorities, including human rights, nonproliferation and responsible use of artificial intelligence, as well as the threats from the North's weapons of mass destruction, according to the office Monday. During her four-day stay in South Korea, Thomas-Greenfield plans to meet senior Seoul officials, travel to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, meet young North Korean escapees and speak with students at Ewha Womans University. It will mark the first trip to Seoul by the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. since 2016. In Japan, she will meet senior Tokyo officials, local students and family members of Japan ese citizens abducted by Pyongyang decades ago, according to the office. In both countries, the ambassador plans to discuss the next steps to ensure the "continuation of independent and accurate reporting" of the North's weapons proliferation and sanctions evasion activities following Russia's veto of a U.N. resolution on the annual renewal of an expert panel monitoring sanctions enforcement. Absent the resolution's passage, the panel's mandate is set to expire April 30, a termination that observers say could chip away at international efforts to curb evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats. An official at South Korea's foreign ministry said the government is working on various measures, in cooperation with the United States and other countries, to come up with an "effective monitoring mechanism" that will replace the panel. Source: Yonhap News Agency