U.S., DPRK to hold working group talks in New York

Officials from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will hold working group talks from March 5-6 in New York on the normalization of bilateral relations, the State Department said on Wednesday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will meet with DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan in the talks, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, adding that the two will spend time working on the agenda for the normalization process.

However, McCormack played down the prospect for immediate breakthroughs.

"Don't look at it as a meeting that is going to produce immediate results. Nobody is going to come out the front door and wave a piece of paper with some agreement on it," he said.

The move follows a landmark agreement in the six-party talks in Beijing on Feb. 13 in which the United States and the DPRK agreed to start talks on establishing normal relations after decades of hostility.

Source: Xinhua