The United States (US) is "very much committed to" the upcoming six-party
talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, said Christopher Hill, head of the
US delegation, here Sunday.
"We come here to try to make some real progress.... We would like to make
measurable progress.... I wouldn't expect this to be the last set of
negotiation," Hill said upon his arrival at the Beijing International Club for
residence.
Hill, US Assistant Secretary of State, arrived at the Beijing Capital
International airport at about 3:00 p.m. Sunday to attend the upcoming new round
of the six-party talks.
"We are really looking forward to this negotiation and meeting all other
delegations .... It is going to take a little time and a lot of work.... We will
try to do the best we can to make sure we reach progress," he said.
Hill said he had no idea about how long the new round of the talks will last.
He said the US delegation will do a lot of consultations tomorrow night and
begin overall negotiation on Tuesday.
The new round of the talks, which involves China, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK)
and Japan, will begin at 9:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) Tuesday at the Diaoyutai State
Guesthouse, the venue for the previous three rounds of the six-party talks.
The DPRK and ROK delegations arrived here respectively on Friday afternoon
and Saturday morning. The Japanese and Russian delegations are expected to
arrive here this evening and Monday.