The top US negotiator for long-stalled North Korean nuclear disarmament talks plans to return to Asia on Sunday to continue efforts to convene a new round of negotiations, US officials said Wednesday. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met Monday in Beijing with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei to discuss restarting those negotiations. Hill, who has returned to Washington, plans to travel to China again Sunday for more talks, after the end of a long US holiday weekend, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
After North Korea's Oct. 9 nuclear test, its government agreed to return to the talks with China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. But officials have yet to determine a date. Casey reiterated that the goal is to have the talks restarted in mid-December. |