U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill arrived in Beijing on Monday evening to discuss the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue with Chinese officials.
   
Upon arrival, Hill said that he came to the Chinese capital at the request of U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to further 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 aim to resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue. Prior to the Beijing trip, he predicted that the six-party talks were likely to resume in early December.

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 at a time convenient to the six parties.
   
The talks have remained stalled since the last round meeting in Beijing last November which ended with a chairman's statement, in which the parties agreed to resume talks as soon as possible.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2006)