Christopher Hill says he is not sure how long he will stay in Pyongyang or if he will be able to meet with North Korea's chief envoy to the six-party nuclear talks, Kim Kye-gwan, once there but says he has already made several requests.

With this visit, he hopes to reach agreement on the verification of a nuclear declaration the North submitted in June to complete the nuclear disablement stage and drop the communist regime from a U.S. list of terrorism sponsoring states.

Hill said although the nuclear talks were going through difficult times he would wait and see how the meetings in Pyongyang go.

North Korea is still reluctant to allow sampling at its facilities and access to undeclared sites, but the U.S. envoy says he plans to sit down with the North Koreans to see how this matter can be resolved.

Observers say this might be the last chance for the current U.S. administration to see progress on the nuclear issue before leaving office.

Asked if it was a positive sign that North Korea accepted a visit from the U.S., Hill said he would only be able to answer that in a couple of days.

Hill also refused to comment on the future of economic and energy aid to the North if it restarts its nuclear facility this week, saying the focus right now is to agree on the verification measures.

Before heading to the North Korean capital, Hill met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook to discuss the nuclear developments.

Once the talks end, Hill will return to Seoul before leaving for Beijing and Tokyo to meet with the other members of the six-party talks.

Arirang News