Top US representative Christopher Hill to the six-party talks said on Thursday that the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) issue can be solved.

"We are doing all we can to overcome the problem," said Hill, referring to a financial dispute involving North Korean funds frozen at the BDA.

He said he believed North Korea is still prepared to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility. North Korea has made the defreezing of the funds the precondition for a shutdown.

Hill arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to exchange notes and information with the Chinese envoy to the six-party talks.

He held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who heads the Chinese delegation to the six-party talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.

Saying he had "a good exchange" with the Chinese side, Hill said the discussion touched on "where we are in the six-party talks process".

But he refused to predict when the six-party talks, which have been stalled since February, would be resumed.

Hill said his discussion with the Chinese side also covered the Darfur issue and climate change. Hill will go back to Washington on Thursday afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2007)