US, DPRK start talks on normalizing ties

Source: CCTV.com | 03-06-2007 10:29

Negotiators from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have started talks aimed at normalizing ties between the two countries.

DPRK envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, met other officials in New York, ahead of Monday's meeting with his American counterpart, Christopher Hill. Their talks mark the highest-level meeting between the two sides on American soil since a top Pyongyang envoy visited Washington in 2000.

The meeting is part of the first stage in implementing an agreement reached last month at Six-party talks in Beijing.

The talks are taking place just as IAEA chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, gears up for a landmark trip to Pyongyang. Speaking in Vienna, ElBaradei says he welcomes the DPRK's invitation, calling next Tuesday's trip to Pyongyang, a "step in the right direction".

Editor:Du Xiaodan