US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill speaks as he leaves from Beijing airport November 21, 2006. [Reuters]

The top US nuclear negotiator was to hold a second round of talks with Chinese officials Tuesday to prepare for expected nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea, a US official said.

Christopher Hill was dispatched to Beijing by US President George W. Bush immediately following an economic summit in Hanoi, where Pacific Rim leaders discussed North Korea's nuclear weapons program and urged the country to resume disarmament negotiations.

Hill, an assistant secretary of state, met his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, shortly after arriving on Monday night, said US Embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson.

She had no details of the meeting but said the two would meet again Tuesday. Stevenson also could not say if Hill would hold talks with Kim Gye Gwan, North Korea's top nuclear negotiator.

One of North Korean airlines Air Koryo's twice weekly flights from Pyongyang arrived in Beijing Tuesday morning, but there was no confirmation that Kim was on board.

Hill said Monday that he did know if he would meet Kim and said his primary purpose in Beijing was to follow up on discussions by the Pacific Rim leaders.

Hill and Kim made surprise visits to Beijing last month, holding talks that led to North Korea's agreement to return to long-stalled six-party talks on its nuclear program. Other parties to the talks include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. A date has not been set.

North Korea agreed in September 2005 to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and aid. But Washington imposed financial sanctions against a Macau-based bank on suspicions it was laundering counterfeit money for the North Koreans. Angered by the move, Pyongyang withdrew from the six-party talks in November 2005.

North Korea wants the financial sanctions to be a main item on the agenda for the resumed six-party negotiations. Washington has said only that it has agreed to discuss the sanctions as a side issue to the nuclear negotiations.