By Sakura Murakami
TOKYO (Reuters) -The United States is actively engaged in ensuring the&nbsp;return&nbsp;of an American soldier who had crossed into&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea, a U.S. official said on Thursday, ahead of a&nbsp;trilateral&nbsp;meeting with Japan and South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;on countering&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean threats.
The U.S. is working hard to ascertain information on Private Travis King's wellbeing and engaged in "ensuring his safety and&nbsp;return," U.S. Special Envoy for&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;Sung Kim said at the opening of the meeting.
The meeting takes place amid heightened tensions around the&nbsp;Korean Peninsula. On Tuesday, King made an unauthorised crossing into&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea, the same day a U.S. nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine visited South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;for the first time since the 1980s.
North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;test launched two ballistic missiles into the sea early on Wednesday.
South&nbsp;Korean government representative Kim Gunn condemned the missile launches and spoke of the strengthening of ties between the three countries.
"Our&nbsp;trilateral&nbsp;security cooperation is at an unprecedented level," he said, adding that the three will discuss ways to further strengthen their cooperation, including in sanctions and countering&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korea's malicious&nbsp;cyber activities.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger)

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US seeks soldier's return as trilateral talks over North Korea start