The chief US negotiator to the six-party nuclear talks yesterday said "no
breakthroughs" had been made after the first one-on-one meeting with his
counterpart from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"We don't have any breakthrough to report," Assistant U.S. Secretary of State
Christopher Hill told reporters Wednesday night at the hotel.
Hill did not release details of his one-on-one meeting with the chief DPRK
negotiator Kim Kye-gwan, the first since the talks resumed on Monday.
Hill confirmed he also had one-on-one meetings with the other four
delegations.
Formally known as the second phase of the fifth round since 2003, the fresh
talks involved China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan
and Russia, with focus on the implementation of the joint statement in September
2005.
Under the joint statement, the DPRK agreed to abandon its nuclear program in
exchange for economic aid and security guarantees.
"We cannot accept anything less than the goal of denuclearization," Hill
said. "I really want to see something get done this week."
"Tomorrow will be a bilateral day," Hill said, adding he will have "an early
discussion with the DPRK delegation tomorrow."
On the sidelines of the six-party talks, the United States and the DPRK held
a separate meeting on finance issues in Beijing.
President of the DPRK's Foreign Trade Bank O Kwang Chol held three-hour talks
with Daniel Glaser, U.S. Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for
terrorist financing and financial crimes, at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday
afternoon.