U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill held talks with his Chinese
counterpart in Beijing Saturday, after a trip to North Korea failed to
persuade Pyongyang to stop restoring its atomic facilities.
A
U.S. Embassy spokesman said Hill briefed top nuclear negotiator Wu
Dawei on the outcome of his discussions with North Korean officials
this week.
U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said
Friday that Hill was not able to convince Pyongyang to halt steps to
reverse disablement of its nuclear facility at Yongbyon. Wood said the
latest confirmation of the North's ongoing nuclear activity was
received late Thursday during Hill's visit to Pyongyang.
After
returning to Seoul Friday, Hill said he had conducted "lengthy" and
"substantive" talks with North Korean officials. He declined to say if
any real progress was made during his three-day visit.
The
U.S. assistant secretary of state said he held talks in Pyongyang with
his counterpart, Kim Kye Kwan, as well as North Korea's foreign
minister and a Korean People's Army general.
Hill said he will
not provide further details on his meetings with North Korean officials
until after he has spoken to the U.S. secretary of state and the other
countries involved in talks to end Pyongyang's nuclear program.
The U.S. envoy briefed South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Sook and Akitaka Saiki, after his return to Seoul.
The
United States wants an international verification of North Korea's
compliance with a six-nation disarmament deal. North Korea says
verification is not part of the current stage of the agreement.
Last
year, North Korea agreed to end its nuclear program in return for
energy aid and diplomatic benefits from the United States, South Korea,
Japan, Russia and China. However, in recent weeks, Pyongyang began
restoring equipment at its main nuclear facility after Washington
declined to remove it from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
