A U.S. envoy for stalled nuclear disarmament talks is set to meet with his South Korean counterpart Friday in Seoul to discuss resuming the talks and other issues related to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Sung Kim, Washington's special envoy for the long-stalled six- party talks, is scheduled to meet with Seoul's top nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac later in the day to brief him on the outcome of a high- level U.S. delegation's trip to Beijing.

The U.S. delegation, which included Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, met with Beijing officials including State Councilor Dai Bingguo, who recently sat down with DPRK leader Kim Jong-il.

Following the DPRK's fatal shelling of a South Korean border island last month, China suggested holding emergency consultations among six-party representatives, a proposal Seoul and Washington rejected citing inappropriateness.

In a foreign ministry statement Thursday, the DPRK hinted at its willingness to return to the talks, which it previously declared dead.