Saiki, Hill to meet in U.S. on N. Korean nuclear issue: gov't sources

TOKYO, Nov. 19 Kyodo - Top Japanese and U.S. envoys to the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue are expected to hold a meeting early next week in Washington, government sources said Wednesday.

Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asia and Oceanian
Affairs Bureau, and Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of state for East
Asian and Pacific affairs, are likely to meet as arrangements are under way for
a session around next Tuesday, they said.
They envision confirming a U.S.-North Korean accord in connection with
Pyongyang's reluctance of allowing sample-taking from North Korea's nuclear
facilities to be subjected to on-site inspections, they said.
The envoys also hope to exchange opinions on the need to compile a statement on
agreements at the next six-way talks and on the resumption of the talks, they
said.
South Korea, China and Russia are other members of the talks.