SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, will discuss nuclear cooperation and the threat posed by North Korea during their first bilateral meeting on Saturday, a U.S. official said.

       The senior Biden administration official said Washington is ready for diplomacy with North Korea and is prepared to work with other countries in the region to help with issues including the country's "quite serious" COVID-19 pandemic.

       (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler)