(28 Jul 2011)
1. Wide of North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan meeting Ambassador Stephen Bosworth in front of the US Mission to the United Nations, they shake hands
2. Mid of Kim and Bosworth inside foyer of US Mission to the United Nations building, filmed through glass
3. Exterior, media pack crowding round Ri Gun, Director General of the North American Affairs Bureau in North Korea''s Foreign Ministry, as he walks along heading for US Mission, UPSOUND: Off camera reporter question: "Optimistic?" Ri answers: "I''m not sure yet."
4. Top shot as Ri Gun walks past
STORYLINE:
North Korean ministers were in New York on Thursday for the first of two days of talks with US officials on their nuclear arms programme.
US officials will be looking for clear signs during the talks that North Korea is serious about giving up its nuclear weapon programme in exchange for improved relations with Washington.
The high-level meetings, held at the US Mission to the United Nations in the shadow of the UN headquarters complex, have raised hopes of a possible breakthrough in resuming disarmament negotiations after more than a year of high tensions between the rival Koreas.
Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, the Obama administration''s top envoy on North Korean affairs, heads the US delegation to the talks on Thursday and Friday with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, the US State Department said.
Gwan arrived at the US mission on Thursday morning and shook hands with Bosworth before going inside, and neither commented to reporters waiting outside.
Soon after, Ri Gun, Director General of the North American Affairs Bureau in North Korea''s Foreign Ministry, was seen arriving for the talks.
The discussions aim to build on last week''s surprise meeting at a regional summit in Indonesia between nuclear negotiators from North and South Korea, the first such meeting since disarmament talks were last held in December 2008.
The arms talks collapsed shortly afterwards.
Seoul blames Pyongyang for two attacks last year that killed 50 South Koreans and led to threats of war.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner had told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that the US was looking for firm commitment to a 2005 joint declaration requiring North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons programs and allow the return of international weapons inspectors, in exchange for better relations with its Asian neighbours, energy assistance and a pledge from Washington that it wouldn''t attack the North.
Five nations - the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia - have been negotiating since 2003 to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programme.
Pyongyang pulled out of the six-party talks in April 2009 after being censured for launching a long-range rocket.
However, North Korea and China have made recent calls to resurrect the negotiations.
Kim told reporters after landing in New York on Tuesday that he was "optimistic" the six-party talks could resume and that relations with the US might improve.
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