U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill arrived here on Monday evening to discuss the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue with Chinese officials.

Hill said at the airport that he came to the Chinese capital at the request of U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to continue discussions with Chinese officials.

The six-party talks "need to be prepared very well", and the visit "is a part of the process", said Hill.

Hill is the chief U.S. negotiator at the six-party talks, which are aimed at finding a solution to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.

Prior to the Beijing trip, he predicted that the six-party talks were likely to resume in early December.

"I think we will try to use the next few weeks to be very busy and maybe begin the talks sometime in early December, probably," said Hill on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meeting in Vietnam.

Experts interpreted Hill's visit as a "substantial indication" that the resumption of the six-party talks had entered a crucial stage.

"The concerned parties continued to consult on the details of the resumption of the talks, which is a clear sign of more active shuttle diplomacy," said Fu Mengzi, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Contemporary International Relations.

The Chinese government announced at the end of October that China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States had agreed to return to the talks a time convenient to the six parties.

The DPRK stated a day later that it had decided to return to the talks on the premise that the issue of financial sanctions would be discussed and settled between the DPRK and the U.S. within the framework of the six-party talks.

Prior to the statement, Pyongyang vowed that so long as it was under U.S. sanctions, it would not return to the talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons drive.

Despite the DPRK policy changes, the talks would continue to focus on persuading the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons program and achieving nuclear free status on the Korean Peninsula, Fu said.

The talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, have remained stalled since the last round meeting in Beijing last November.

The last round ended with a chairman's statement, in which the parties agreed to resume talks as soon as possible.

The DPRK conducted an underground nuclear test on Oct. 9, triggering protests from the international community and complicating the Korean nuclear issue.

Source: Xinhua