U.S. Undersecretary of State Christopher Hill will meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-Gwan Monday, and Tuesday will hold a meeting with Wu Dawei, deputy foreign minister of China, a key figure in the long-lasting six-nation talks to persuade Pyongyang to drop its nuclear ambitions, the agency reported without elaborating on the meetings' agenda.
Thursday, both negotiators will attend the working group on nuclear disarmament, set up under a February six-party deal, which will gather in northeastern China's Shenyang to discuss further denuclearization steps.
Pyongyang is to declare all its nuclear facilities, including those dealing with nuclear weapons production, and disable them within a year.
Pyongyan shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor in July and let UN weapons inspectors verify the closure, which was the first phase of the groundbreaking agreement with the United States, China, South Korea, Russia, and Japan.
The impoverished North has received 50,000 metric tons of fuel oil for its concessions, and is entitled to a further 950,000 metric tons and other economic and diplomatic incentives.
The other groups, including one to improve relations between the North and the U.S., and between the North and Japan, and on security and cooperation in Northeast Asia, will also hold meetings in August. The next round of ministerial talks are expected to take place in September.
