The U.S. chief nuclear negotiator and his North Korean counterpart met three times in Beijing Tuesday ahead of the six-way talks on North Korea's denuclearization slated for Wednesday afternoon.
They met first at the U.S. embassy in the morning, next one over lunch at a
downtown restaurant and third at the North Korean embassy in the afternoon.
"The afternoon meeting continued for two hours from 3:30 p.m., a diplomat said, adding that
U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill will return to his lodging after bilateral talks with
His Russian and Japanese counterparts.
Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan also discussed over
lunch for about one hour.
"We just had a nice lunch, not a lot of specific discussions," the Associated Press quoted Hill as telling reporters outside a restaurant in the Chinese capital. "The atmosphere was very businesslike."
"We talked much in productive manner. Now is the starting point," Kim told reporters, leaving the restaurant, refusing further comment on the meeting with Hill.
South Korea chief negotiator Chun Young-woo and Russian special envoy Vladimir Rakhmanin also arrived in the Chinese capital in the morning, while Japan's top negotiator Kenichiro Sasae in the afternoon to participate in the six-way talks.
The six-way talks are scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday in local time at a Beijing hotel, Chun said.
"The talks tomorrow will focus on the implementation of the initial step and ways of implementing next step namely reports and disabling of the nuclear program," Chun told reporters. "We will intensively discuss incentives in return for the North' action."
Other envoys of the six countries held bilateral talks on the nuclear issue to fine-tune the
sensitive problems prior to the Wednesday talks.
There will be ''a lot of bilaterals,'' Hill was quoted as saying upon his arrival at Beijing's international airport. ''We've got a lot of work to do, a lot of catching up to do.''
Before leaving North Korea, Kim told reporters that the upcoming discussions should focus on the second stage of denuclearization measures, saying the first phase of a six-party deal reached in February has now been completed, Kyodo said.
The first phase ''has been accomplished,'' Kim was quoted as saying. ''So the talks will focus on the sequence of the obligation and actions to be taken by the concerned parties at the second phase under the Feb. 13 agreement.''
Upon his arrival in Beijing, Kim told reporters, ''Please follow (developments) carefully.''
The talks in Beijing involving North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia follow North Korea's halting of operations at its key nuclear facilities in Yongbyon over the weekend.
The shutdown of the facilities marked the first concrete step toward Pyongyang's denuclearization under the six-party deal.