US, DPRK hold food aid talks in Beijing

BEIJING - Representatives from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a meeting here on Wednesday to discuss the details of a food aid agreement.

"This issue is complicated, and we had a good session today," Robert King, US special envoy for DPRK human rights issues, said at a press briefing after the full day of talks.

The two sides discussed a number of issues and made some progress, he said.

According to the US diplomat, the morning session was held in the DPRK Embassy, and the afternoon session was held in the US Embassy.

"We still have issues to be resolved. We will be meeting tomorrow," King told reporters.

King arrived in Beijing Tuesday afternoon for the talks in which the two sides are expected to finalize details for proposed US food aid to the DPRK.

The food aid is part of the agreement between the two nations that was unveiled last week. According to the agreement, the DPRK has agreed to suspend its nuclear tests, long-range missile launches and uranium enrichment activity at Nyongbyon, and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment.

The US agreed to meet with the DPRK to finalize the details to move forward with the proposed 240,000 metric tons of US nutritional assistance.