US envoy in China to prepare for N Korea talks

BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) The top US negotiator on North Korea arrived in China today to meet Chinese leaders and help lay the groundwork for a resumption of six-party talks on the North's nuclear ambitions.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said he was in Beijing at the request of President George W Bush and Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice but that he did not know how long he would stay.

''As we said all along, the six-party talks need to be very well prepared and so this is part of that process,'' he told reporters at the airport.

The North agreed to return to the talks, which group the two Koreas, the United States, host China, Japan and Russia, three weeks after its October 9 nuclear test, after nearly a year of refusing to return to the table.

No date has been set for the next round, which US and Asian diplomats hope will take place by the end of the year.

REUTERS AB BST1711