Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to drop its nuclear ambitions in exchange for economic aid and diplomatic incentives stalled in January after the communist regime missed a December 31 deadline to give a full account of its nuclear programs. The negotiations involve the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas.
According to the Yonhap news agency, South Korean and U.S. envoys have reaffirmed that six-party talks on Korea's denuclearization will continue despite recent U.S. allegations that Pyongyang transferred nuclear technology to Syria.
"We discussed various aspects of the six-party process... [including] what we would expect to see as we continue with this process," Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state, said after meeting his South Korean counterpart, Kim Sook.
Kim Sook, appointed as South Korea's nuclear envoy in mid-April, arrived in Washington shortly after a U.S. delegation led by State Department Korea director Sung Kim had returned from negotiations held last week in Pyongyang.
North Korea tested a nuclear bomb in October 2006.
