Negotiators from the United States, South Korea and Japan are meeting in Seoul to coordinate strategy for compelling North Korea to give up its nuclear programs.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the South's nuclear negotiator Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, and Japanese negotiator Kenichiro Sasae had no comment before they began their session at the South Korean foreign ministry.
North Korea agreed Saturday to end a 13-month boycott of six-way negotiations after Mr. Hill gave assurances Washington recognized Pyongyang's sovereignty.
Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told a Chinese envoy in Pyongyang that his father - Kim il-sung - wanted the Korean peninsula to be nuclear-free, and added he hopes the six-party talks can be the first step in that direction.