Chief U.S. nuclear envoy says `substantive, lengthy` talks with North Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes from U.S., South Korean nuclear negotiators in; RESTORES
some previous materials)
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- The chief U.S. nuclear envoy said Friday he had "substantive" talks with North Korean officials during a rare visit to the communist country but gave no indication whether there was a breakthrough in the faltering multilateral nuclear disarmament talks.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher returned to Seoul earlier in the
day from a three-day visit to North Korea on a mission to save a stalled
six-party deal, under which the North promised to dismantle its nuclear programs
in exchange for aid.
"There's been a lot of problems in the past couple of months regarding the
six-part process, so we had a substantial review of activities," Hill said at a
news conference. He declined to give any details.
Hill said North Korean officials he met during the trip included his counterpart,
Kim Gye-kwan, and Lt. Gen. Li Chan-bok, the chief military representative
assigned to the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
Hill's trip to North Korea, originally scheduled to end on Thursday, was extended
by another day, prompting hopes for progress. But it was unclear whether there
was any real progress made.
Kim Sook, the chief South Korean nuclear envoy who was also present at the news
conference, said that despite the trip, disagreements remain, especially over the
issue of verification.
"It couldn't say so," Kim said when asked by reporters whether North Korea agreed
on a verification protocol on its declared nuclear programs.
"It's too early to talk about details because (Hill) should report to Washington
and consultations should be made with other nations," Kim said when asked to
elaborate.
Kim indicated, however, that there was a certain degree of progress made in the
trip, saying he and Hill agreed that there should be further consultations on the
matter within the framework of the six-party negotiations, possibly within this
month.
The consultations might involve even the foreign ministers of South Korea and the
U.S., if necessary, he said.
From Seoul, Hill was scheduled to fly to Beijing on Saturday to meet Chinese Vice
Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who chairs the six-way talks aimed at denuclearizing
North Korea.
Tensions have mounted since Pyongyang moved to resume its nuclear activity in
recent weeks, apparently in protest at Washington's refusal to take it off the
terrorism sanctions list. The U.S. insists that the North must first agree to an
intrusive verification protocol on its nuclear declaration.
The North announced in mid-August a halt in the slow-going disablement of its
nuclear facilities in Yongbyon under a 2007 aid-for-denuclearization deal with
the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
Late last month, North Korea began backtracking from the deal, telling the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it was reactivating a facility in
Yongbyon, where weapons-grade plutonium can be extracted from spent fuel rods.