Beijing — The chief U.S. envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program said Monday he saw few chances for quick progress as efforts to draft a statement of basic principles dragged into a second week.
Negotiators were working on a second draft proposed by host China after they spent the weekend struggling with North Korea's demands for what it should receive if it disarms.
"I don't see any breakthroughs on the immediate horizon," a visibly weary U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters after what he said was 12 hours of meetings. "It's been a long day without a lot of progress to report."
Hill said "rather major differences" remained between North Korea and the other five governments. He said some issues that the Americans had thought were resolved re-emerged as disagreements on Monday, but he would not give details.
Hill said he did not know how long the talks would last, but was having eight shirts laundered. "We'll stay here as long as we feel we're making progress," he said. "If we're not making progress, we're not going to stay."
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