Hill may return to Beijing for North Korea talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill could return to Beijing this weekend to meet his North Korean counterpart for talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear program, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

The official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the diplomacy, said the United States did not know whether the North Korean official, Kim Kye-gwan, would agree to go to Beijing for such talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted at progress toward ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions during a trip to South Korea, China and Japan this week, saying she had "constructive discussions" with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Wednesday.

North Korea committed to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs in exchange for economic and diplomatic benefits under a 2005 multilateral deal.

But the accord between the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States has become bogged down by Pyongyang's failure to produce a declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of last year.

Asked about the possibility of Hill returning to Beijing, State Department spokesman Tom Casey noted that Hill told reporters on leaving China on Thursday that he planned to visit Thailand and Vietnam and then return to the United States.