SEOUL - US NEGOTIATOR Christopher Hill said on Friday he had 'substantive' talks during his visit to North Korea aimed at saving a shaky nuclear disarmament pact.

Mr Hill gave no other details of what he called lengthy talks in Pyongyang with his counterpart Kim Kye Gwan and other officials.

He did not indicate whether progress was made in a dispute over inspections of the North's nuclear facilities, saying he wants to report to other parties to the negotiations before commenting.

Mr Hill arrived earlier on Friday in Seoul after a two-day visit aimed at stopping the communist state from reactivating its nuclear weapons programme.

He briefed his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook on his visit and was also scheduled to meet Japanese negotiator Akitaka Saiki.

Mr Hill was to travel on Saturday to Beijing for talks with its chief nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei.

North Korea has refused to accept a US-led demand for 'robust' inspections of its declared atomic facilities.

The United States says it cannot remove the North from a terrorism blacklist until it agrees on verification procedures.

In protest, the North has announced it will soon restart its plutonium reprocessing plant. -- AFP