N. Korea, U.S. working to fix date for six-way talks

The top nuclear envoys from North Korea and the United States were holding a meeting here on Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed, in which they were trying to set a date for a new round of six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan arrived here earlier in the day at what he said was the "kind invitation" of his American counterpart at the six-way talks, and vowed to return to the negotiations "at any time." Christopher Hill, Washington's point man on Pyongyang, flew into the Chinese capital on Monday.

"The U.S., North Korean and Chinese delegates are all here.

They are having bilateral meetings and a three-way meeting," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jaing Yu said in a regular press briefing. China hopes that the "relevant parties can have an in-depth exchange of ideas in order to promote the early resumption of talks," she added, but gave no other details.

Informed sources said the main topics of the envoys' talks include what the North should do and what it can expect as incentives.

After landing in Beijing, Kim said that "there are a lot of contentious issues" between North Korea and the U.S. and that he wanted to use the trip to narrow the differences.

The results of the Kim-Hill meeting are likely to determine how soon the six-way talks will resume. China, host of the negotiations, and Japan say the sooner, the better, while the U.S.

and South Korea insist the talks should be held when progress is guaranteed.

"The issue for us is to make sure we are extremely well-planned and ready for the six-party talks, which we do anticipate will get going at some point very soon," Hill said earlier.

He said he is not interested in talks for talks' sake, and a new round of negotiations will likely start in the middle of next month after a year-long hiatus.

The North Korean envoy also said Pyongyang is more confident due to its nuclear capability.

"We can participate in the (six-way) talks at any time with a dignified status, as we have taken all the defensive measures to counter sanctions and pressure through the nuclear test," Kim told reporters here.

The meeting between the American and North Korean nuclear negotiators was the second of its kind in a month.

They had an unannounced meeting in Beijing late last month, and agreed to revive the moribund six-party talks.

The breakthrough followed weeks of escalated tension over the North's Oct. 9 nuclear weapon test. Hill said North Korea has set no conditions for its return to the negotiations, but Pyongyang insists that its decision was prompted by Washington's pledge to "discuss and resolve" financial sanctions imposed on it.

The U.S. blacklisted the Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in Macau in September last year, accusing it of helping North Korea's alleged counterfeiting and money laundering.

A related investigation by the U.S. Treasury is still under way, effectively freezing US$24 million in the North's accounts in the bank. North Korea called the measure "sanctions" and boycotted the nuclear talks.

The U.S. said it can discuss the financial issue in the context of the six-way talks and proposed the formation of a working group to handle it.

South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys are also staying in Beijing to help the diplomatic efforts to fix a date for the six-way talks.

Beijing, Nov. 28 (Yonhap News)