The first talks between the United States and North Korea since the death of Kim Jong-Il entered their second day Friday, as Washington seeks to restart denuclearisation negotiations.
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| The US special envoy on North Korea, Glyn Davies and his negotiating team (C-in bus) leave the North Korean embassy after the first round of bilateral talks in Beijing on February 23, 2012. (AFP Photo/Mark Ralston) |
Glyn Davies, coordinator for US policy on North Korea, said he hoped to "build on the serious and substantive discussions" held in Beijing on Thursday with a delegation from Pyongyang led by veteran negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan.
"We are going to try to make as much progress as we can, diplomacy is a difficult process, it takes time, sometimes it takes weeks and months," Davies told reporters.
The talks are seen as a chance for Washington to clarify what policies North Korea's untested new leader Kim Jong-Un plans, and to try to work with Pyongyang to resume six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme.
The United States has been exploring a resumption of the negotiations, which are chaired by China and also include Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States.
Analysts say Pyongyang -- which has said it wants to return to the six-party talks, albeit without any preconditions -- may be eager to resume discussions with Washington to show the regime is operating as it was before Kim's death.
Davies said that denuclearisation, non-proliferation and humanitarian aid were on the agenda for this week's talks, but played down hopes of any firm agreements.
"If we can get something we can build on, that's important," he said.
North Korea abandoned the six-nation talks in April 2009 because of what it described as US hostility, and conducted a nuclear test the following month, to international condemnation.
This week's talks between the North and the United States are the third since July.
The two sides were scheduled to meet in December, but the plan was shelved after Kim's death on December 17 and the subsequent transition of power to his son Kim Jong-Un.
Davies will meet his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei after the North Korean discussions, before heading to South Korea on Saturday.
China, North Korea's closest ally, has repeatedly urged a resumption of six-party talks.
