US meets North Korea for first nuclear arms talks

THE United States and North Korea held their first face-to-face meeting yesterday at the six-nation nuclear arms talks, and also met separately to discuss US financial restrictions on the communist regime that have been a key snag to the arms negotiations.

The main US nuclear envoy said no progress had been made at the talks seeking to persuade North Korea to dismantle its atomic weapons programme.

“We don’t have any breakthroughs to report,” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters.