US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has described his talks
with Kim Kye-Gwan, top nuclear negotiator from the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (DPRK), in Berlin as useful and productive, the State Department said
yesterday.
"Chris described the conversations he's had over the last couple of days as
being useful and being productive. It's a good opportunity to exchange views and
exchange information," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said of the
meeting in Berlin.
For the second consecutive day, Hill and Kim Kye-Gwan met in Berlin to
discuss how to resume the six-party talks and ensure the six-party talks to make
"real progress."
"Hopefully we can continue to build on that, and we'll be able to reconvene
the (six-party) talks sooner rather than later," Casey said.
The United States has said that the six-party talks, involving the United
States, the DPRK, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan, are expected to resume
this month.
During the round of six-party talks in September 2005, the DPRK signed a
statement agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for
economic aid and security guarantees from the United States and other countries.
However, the DPRK refused to return to the talks as a result of U.S. financial
sanctions.
Under pressure, the DPRK returned to the talks held in Beijing in December.
However, the talks failed to make progress.
