US envoy extends North Korea talks to save disarmament deal

A SENIOR US envoy extended talks in North Korea in a bid to save a troubled disarmament pact and convince secretive Pyongyang not to restart a nuclear plant that makes arms-grade plutonium.

The visit to the hermit north by assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill raised hopes that a deal might be in the works. It came as the rival Korean states held their first talks in almost a year, but with no discernible progress.

The flurry of diplomacy coincided with a report that North Korea might be about to ratchet up regional tensions by upgrading a launch site used to test missiles that can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan.