U.S., N.K. nuclear envoys meet to discuss resumption of six-party talks

Top U.S. and North Korean nuclear envoys met in Berlin Tuesday to discuss the resumption of the six-party talks, the U.S. State Department said.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan, and talked about preparing for the next round of negotiations, which would follow up on the December session, department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.

Hill was in Berlin to deliver a speech on Asia-Pacific regional security and North Korean nuclear issues at the American Academy.

His meeting with Kim had not been announced beforehand.

The two envoys met at the U.S. embassy in morning and afternoon sessions.

"In terms of the meeting today, it was a good exchange of views," Casey said at his daily briefing. "It certainly was conducted in a positive atmosphere."

The meeting focused on a "follow-up to some of the proposals and ideas expressed in the last round of talks," he said. "It's all towards the goal of having a well-structured and prepared round, hopefully in the near future."

But he said there were still no fixed dates for when the next six-party talks will open.

The meeting precedes Hill's visit to Asia starting this Friday.

He heads out to Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo for consultations as participants await the reopening of the nuclear negotiations also involving Pyongyang and Moscow. The six-party dialogue is aimed at persuading the North to give up its nuclear weapons and programs in exchange for various incentives provided by other states.

The December session, which opened after 13 months of suspended dialogue, ended in disappointment when Pyongyang's envoys insisted on first addressing U.S. financial sanctions imposed on North Korea.

The U.S. Treasury had accused a local Macau bank, Banco Delta Asia, of laundering money Pyongyang gains through illicit financial activities.

Washington proposed a "package" resolution at the December round, matching actions and incentives that ultimately would require Pyongyang's denuclearization. Negotiators hope North Korea will come back to the talks with its response to the proposal.

Washington, Jan. 16 (Yonhap News)