US envoy says no progress on North Korea talks

BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) The US envoy to negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programme held talks with his Chinese counterpart today, but said there could be no progress until Pyongyang agrees to come back to the table.

US negotiator Christopher Hill said he and China's Wu Dawei agreed on the need to get back to six-party talks but that North Korea was still not prepared to resume the process it has refused to rejoin since an inconclusive session in November.

''We had some discussion about the fact that we need to get going on this and that it is not helpful the DPRK has continued to boycott the talks,'' Hill told reporters, referring to North Korea by the initials for its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Hill was to fly to Seoul later in the day and on to Tokyo tomorrow in a trip aimed at breathing life into the stalled process.

China, an old ally of the North and host to the talks that also group the two Koreas, Japan and Russia, has been seen as key to persuading Pyongyang back to the table.

But analysts said Hill's visit was as much about keeping China and South Korea engaged in the stalled process as to push for any leverage.

''He's going to urge China and South Korea to redouble their patience,'' said Jon Wolfsthal, a North Korea analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

''Where the administration sees the challenge is in South Korea and China peeling off from what needs to be a coordinated policy.'' China is to host North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun next week, and South Korea's president has been quoted as saying he would be willing to meet the North's leader any time for talks.

By contrast, Hill had no substantive discussions with Pyongyang envoy Kim Kye-gwan when both were in Tokyo last month, something analysts said was hindering progress.

Washington has also been cracking down on financial institutions it suspects of assisting Pyongyang in money laundering and counterfeiting, actions whose long-term effectiveness Seoul has questioned.

The six countries agreed in principle at talks last September that North Korea would dismantle its nuclear programmes in exchange for aid, security assurances and diplomatic ties.

But the following session in November ended without progress and Pyongyang has refused to take part ever since, citing the financial crackdown.

Reuters DKS GC1305