Key N Korea nuclear talks begin

US envoy Christopher Hill said talks would seek to agree practical steps to verify North Korea's account of its nuclear programme, provided last month.

The talks between delegates from both Koreas, Russia, the US, China and Japan are resuming after a nine-month delay.

Our correspondent in Seoul, John Sudworth, says they are at a key stage.

There are still some major potential stumbling blocks in the way of the long-term goal of completely dismantling all of North Korea's nuclear programmes, he says.

The mood among the envoys is mixed, with China's Wu Dawei emphasising the parties' shared objective - "the realisation of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula" - while South Korea's Kim Sook cautioned that it was a "very difficult process".