Beijing

South Korea's chief delegate to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program has arrived in Beijing for talks with the North Korean chief envoy.

South Korea's Wi Sung-lac will meet North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in the Chinese capital on Wednesday. It's the first time in 2 months the 2 nuclear chief envoys from the North and South will meet.

Wi told reporters upon his arrival on Tuesday that the 2 countries will discuss denuclearization issues raised in their previous meeting.

The 2 envoys last met in July on the Indonesian island of Bali.

At that meeting, South Korea said the North's uranium enrichment program violates a UN Security Council resolution, and demanded that it be halted immediately. North Korea refused, saying the program is for generating electric power for peaceful purposes.

South Korea and the United States maintain that the 6-party talks, which have been suspended for more than 2 years and 6 months, cannot resume unless the North stops its enrichment activities.

NHK's Beijing correspondent says the focus of attention is on whether South Korea can win any flexibility on denuclearization from North Korea, which apparently wants to negotiate directly with the US.