US and North Korean officials will meet on 23 February to discuss Pyongyang's controversial nuclear programme, the US state department says. It says the US envoy for North Korea, Glyn Davies, will hold talks with North Korean First Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan in China's capital, Beijing.
The talks are aimed at restarting negotiations over disarmament. They will be the first such talks since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in December.
The talks in Beijing were announced by state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland at a news conference in Washington. "This is a continuation of the meetings that we've been having with North Korea to see if it is prepared to fulfil its commitment and its international obligations as well as to take concrete steps towards denuclearisation," she said.
Ms Nyland was referring to the 2005 agreement under which Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear ambitions in return for aid. Two rounds of such talks between US and North Korean officials were held last year, but the third round was cancelled because of the death of Kim Jong-il. |