Top nuclear negotiators from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will meet in Beijing and participate in a working group meeting in northeastern China later this week, according to diplomatic sources.

Christopher Hill, who is scheduled to arrive in the Chinese capital Monday afternoon, will meet with his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan later Monday.

Kim, DPRK's vice Foreign Minister, arrived in Beijing Saturday.

Hill will also meet with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei on Tuesday, an official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed, declining to give further details of their meeting.

Hill and Kim are expected to take part in a working-group meeting starting Thursday on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula under the six-party talks.

The 2-day meeting will convene in Shenyang, capital of northeastern China's Liaoning Province. The chief delegates to the six-party talks agreed in the meeting last month to hold these five working groups in August.

The Shengyang meeting comes days after the working group meeting of economy and energy cooperation held at the truce village of Panmunjom from August 7 to 8, and is also part of the efforts to pave the way for a second session of the six-party talks in early September and the ministerial meeting afterwards.

The six-party talks, initiated in 2003, include China, DPRK, the United States, Republic of Korea, Russia, and Japan.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)