(2nd LD) U.S. nuclear envoy says `substantive, lengthy` talks with North Kores

(ATTN: UPDATES with South Korean diplomatic source hinting North Korea, U.S. may
agree on a face-saving measure in paras 12-13; AMENDS headline)
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- The chief U.S. nuclear envoy said Friday he had "substantive" and "lengthy" talks with North Korean officials during a visit to the communist country but gave no indication that there was a breakthrough in the faltering multilateral nuclear disarmament talks.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill 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.
The six-party process, which also involve South Korea, China, Japan and Russia,
unraveled in August when the North said it was restarting its main nuclear
facilities at Yongbyon in a dispute over Washington's failure to remove it off
the U.S. terrorism sanctions list.
"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 after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Sook.
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 later met the top Japanese nuclear envoy, Akitaka Saiki, in Seoul and
briefed him on the results of his trip to the North.
It was Hill's third visit to North Korea for nuclear discussions, and it was his
first that involved a meeting with a North Korean military official.
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.
The chief South Korean nuclear envoy who was also present at the news conference
said that despite Hill's trip, disagreements remain between North Korea and the
U.S., 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, if necessary, might involve even the foreign ministers of
South Korea and the U.S., he said.
Meanwhile, a South Korean diplomatic source hinted after the news conference that
a face-saving compromise might have been made during Hill's trip, in which North
Korea might be allowed to come clean on its suspected uranium enrichment and
proliferation, if acceptable verification is made on its plutonium activities.
"Isn't it practically difficult to make verification on all North Korean nuclear
programs at the same time?" the source said, speaking on the condition of
anonymity.
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.