US envoy to meet one-on-one with North Korea

[maddezmom]

TOKYO (AFP) - A US envoy said he will meet one-on-one with North Korea in a bid to make progress on ending its nuclear program, but the communist state warned it will take a tough line at upcoming negotiations.

The six-nation talks are due to resume Monday in Beijing after a hiatus of more than a year during which Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon for the first time.

US negotiator Christopher Hill, holding talks in close ally Japan during an overnight stop, said he will meet Sunday in Beijing with his counterpart from North Korea, which prefers direct talks with Washington.

But the North Korean envoy, Kim Kye-Gwan, said as he arrived in China that the talks would fail unless Washington ended its "hostile policy" -- which the North says was the reason for its shock October 9 test.

"The nuclear issues cannot be resolved until the United States takes a co-existence policy," Kim said. "I'm not optimistic about prospects for the six-party talks."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061216/ts_afp/nkoreanuclearweapons_061216165719