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Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - Six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear activities were to resume in Beijing on Thursday amid cautious optimism they would move a step closer to securing complete disarmament.
The talks have not been held for nine months amid delays in securing from the reclusive North Korean regime a declaration of its nuclear activities, as agreed in a landmark six-nation accord reached last year.
But the North, which conducted an atomic test in 2006, last month finally delivered the declaration, clearing the way for progress in the negotiations between China, the United States, Russia, the two Koreas and Japan.
US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said after arriving in Beijing for the talks they would focus on how to verify the communist state's declaration, including working out site visits and interviews.
"I don't think there will be any surprises, but it's never over until it's over the six-party process, so let's see how we do," Hill told reporters on Tuesday night after meeting his North Korean counterpart ahead of the talks.
"Verification will probably take longer than just a few days -- it will be weeks, and maybe months."
Hill, as well as nuclear envoys from the two Koreas and China, were busy Wednesday holding bilateral meetings in a bid to save time when the official talks get underway, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
The talks began in 2003 with the aim of convincing Kim Jong-Il's regime to abandon the nuclear weapons it had spent decades developing, but they have suffered countless setbacks and delays.
China, host of the talks, on Tuesday expressed confidence that further progress would be made this week.
"We are looking forward to the positive achievements of this meeting of the heads of delegations, so as to promote the ushering in of a new stage of the six-party talks process," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Under the current second phase of the disarmament deal, the North had to disable its plutonium-producing Yongbyon facility and document its nuclear activities.
After it handed over its declaration, North Korea also blew up the cooling tower at Yongbyon, in a dramatic gesture intended to demonstrate its commitment to disarmament.
In response, the United States has eased some trade sanctions and moved towards taking the North off its list of state sponsors of terrorism -- as stipulated under the second phase.
US President George W. Bush softened his hardline stance against North Korea following the 2006 atomic test, and US incentives since offered to Pyongyang for disarming have been a key reason for the recent progress.
The third and final phase of the disarmament deal calls for the North to permanently dismantle its atomic plants and hand over all nuclear material and weaponry.
In return the North would secure diplomatic ties with the United States and Japan, as well as a range of other economic and political rewards.
Hill said he hoped the talks -- due to begin at 4:00 pm Thursday and tentatively scheduled to last three days -- would also touch on how to address this crucial and final phase.