Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's top negotiator in the six-party talks, which aim to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, arrived in Beijing Sunday evening.

Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, is set to meet his Chinese and US counterparts to discuss the nuclear issue, Kyodo News quoted a Japanese government official as saying.

The six-party talks, focusing on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, include China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States, Japan and Russia.

Last year's breakdown in negotiations was triggered by U.S. financial sanctions aimed at the DPRK's alleged money laundering and counterfeiting.

The DPRK stunned the world on Oct. 9 this year by conducting its first underground nuclear test, prompting international condemnation. The DPRK agreed last month to resume the nuclear disarmament talks but no fixed date has been set as yet.

The DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, the country's chief delegate to the six-way talks, may also visit Beijing, but any chance of bilateral talks of Japan and the DPRK on this occasion remain slim, Kyodo News said.

During his stay, Sasae is also scheduled to meet with Hu Zhengyue, head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Asian Affairs Department.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2006)