making. North Korea agreed to the July 25 start date during a dinner in Beijing between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan. It was the highest-level U.S.-North Korea meeting in more than a year. The Americans say Pyongyang has never responded formally to their proposal. "We need to hear from them in a comprehensive way what their concerns are, what precisely do they feel is so front loaded -- are there other elements that they need (in an eventual settlement) besides the ones in the June proposal," an official travelling with Rice said. The attitude appears more forthcoming than during President George W. Bush's first term. A recent analysis by the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service found that U.S. policy has turned on three elements -- demands for unilateral concessions from Pyongyang, avoiding direct negotiations with North Korea and isolating the North internationally. --More 2237 Local Time 1937 GMT
