US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill arrived in Beijing Monday afternoon to continue efforts on resuming the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.

 

"The issue for us is to make sure that we are extremely planned and ready for the six-party talks," Hill told reporters at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

 

Hill was the third of negotiators involved in the nuclear talks to arrive in Beijing, following the arrivals of chief negotiators of Japan and South Korea on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

 

When asked whether he will meet with the officials of North Korea, Hill said that "we've always said that we are prepared to meet with the North Korean officials."

 

Hill said he will meet with Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and stay in Beijing for a couple of days.

 

Just a week ago, Hill came here and met with Wu. The two agreed to make joint efforts to restart the talks.

 

The six-party talks, involving China, North and South Korea, the US, Russia and Japan, are aimed at finding a solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

However, the talks have been stalled since last November as North Korea refused to return to the talks because of US sanctions against it. 

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2006)