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US envoy Hill visits North Korea US envoy Hill visits North Korea
(about 1 hour later)
US envoy Christopher Hill has flown to North Korea amid speculation that international talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme could soon restart.US envoy Christopher Hill has flown to North Korea amid speculation that international talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme could soon restart.
The US State Department said Mr Hill - the highest-ranking American to visit North Korea for five years - would try to move the process forward. It is his first visit to the secretive state, and comes after the resolution of a long-standing dispute over US financial sanctions.
On Wednesday Mr Hill said he expected the six-party talks to resume in July. On Wednesday, Mr Hill said he expected the six-party talks to resume in July.
They had been held up by a dispute over North Korean funds frozen in Macau, but this now seems to have been resolved.They had been held up by a dispute over North Korean funds frozen in Macau, but this now seems to have been resolved.
Funding rowFunding row
The South Korean news agency Yonhap said Mr Hill had left from a US military base in South Korea early on Thursday, and planned to return on Friday. Mr Hill left for Pyongyang from an air force base near Seoul early on Friday.
He has already visited Japan, China, and South Korea in recent days. He is scheduled to have two days of talks on the long-delayed agreement to shut down the North's nuclear weapons programme.
On Monday, the UN's nuclear watchdog confirmed that its inspectors would be travelling to North Korea next week to discuss shutting down the Yongbyon reactor. Mr Hill said he wanted to speed up the process following recent delays.
North Korea forced out nuclear inspectors in 2002 and since then has claimed to be working towards building up a nuclear arsenal. According to the BBC correspondent in Seoul, Charles Scanlon, the visit underlines the new, more conciliatory approach to North Korea being taken by the Bush administration.
In October last year, a nuclear device was tested underground in the north of the country. Mr Hill is the most senior US official to visit the country in five years.
The funding row was a continual sticking point in progress towards disarmament. Washington has long rejected bilateral negotiations with North Korea, favouring six-party talks involving the whole region.
Pyongyang agreed in February to shut down its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in return for aid. But now it seems happy to do both simultaneously, our correspondent says.
But the North Koreans insisted they would not make any progress until they had received the money. The new urgency is a result of North Korea's test of a nuclear device last October.
Mr Hill announced on Tuesday that the funds had been returned. American officials say they want to find out the North's real intentions following its agreement in February to "shut down and seal" its nuclear reactor in return for economic aid.
Progress on that agreement has been slow in recent months, largely due to a row over North Korean funds frozen in a Macau back.
The North Koreans insisted they would not move forward on the nuclear deal until they had received the money, but it took a long time for the funds to be transferred.
Mr Hill announced on Tuesday that the money had finally been delivered to a North Korean bank account in Russia, and both sides now seem keen to return to the negotiating table.
Last weekend the North invited international inspectors to discuss shutting down its one functioning nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
The inspectors are due to arrive in Pyongyang next week - their first visit since they were forced out of the country in 2002.