Beijing ? North Korea’s envoy to international disarmament talks said today that banning atomic weapons on the Korean Peninsula was the main issue for the revived negotiations, while the United States maintained that it had no intention of invading the communist nation.

Today’s talks are the fourth such six-nation negotiations, which also include China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. They are reconvening after a 13-month boycott during which the North refused to attend, citing “hostile” U.S. policies.

“The fundamental thing is to make real progress in realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan said at the opening session of the talks in Beijing.

Pyongyang agreed to return to the talks following a meeting earlier this month between Kim and the main U.S. envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, who reassured North Korea that Washington recognized its sovereignty.

Today, Hill repeated his assurances.

Unlike previous rounds, no end date has been set for the resumed negotiations. Hill said Tuesday his delegation would remain in Beijing “so long as we are making progress in these talks.”