US to hold bilateral talks with N Korea in Beijing

Hill, arriving in Japan for an overnight stop, said he will meet with North Korean envoy Kim Kye-Gwan in Beijing on Sunday.

"I believe I will be meeting with Kim Kye-Gwan bilaterally tomorrow," Hill told reporters at Narita International Airport near Tokyo.

"I look forward to seeing him tomorrow and exchanging views with him," he said.

Kim, speaking earlier Saturday, warned he was not optimistic about the six-way talks due to the "hostile" US stance.

Hill responded that the US was opposed to North Korea's nuclear programme, not the regime itself.

"I have made very clear that the United States has hostile policies to the DPRK's nuclear policy," he said, using the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"I'm not going to negotiate with Mr. Kim through the media," he added, saying the two would have "ample opportunity" to talk in Beijing.

The negotiations -- which include the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia, the United States -- are resuming after a 13-month hiatus during which North Korea tested an atom bomb.

The US has repeatedly met with North Korea on the sidelines of the talks but has refused to hold full-fledged bilateral talks outside the framework of six-way talks.

North Korea walked away from the six-way talks in November 2005, demanding that the US lift financial sanctions on a Macau-based bank accused of laundering and counterfeiting money on behalf of the impoverished regime.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution slapping new sanctions on North Korea after its October 9 nuclear test.