U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill is scheduled to visit Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to discuss "bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern" with his counterparts in the six-party talks, said a press official from the U.S. Embassy in China Friday in Beijing.

Hill will also hold talks with some senior governmental officials of the three countries, according to the embassy official, Darragh Paradiso.

She said Hill is to leave Washington for Japan on Sunday and spend the whole Monday in Tokyo.

China is the second leg of Hill's Asia tour. He is expected to arrive in Beijing on Sep. 5 and spend the next two days in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province.

Hill is expected to visit the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province and Shanghai Municipality on Sep. 8 and Sep 9 before leaving for Seoul of the ROK on Sept 11.

He is scheduled to be back to the United States on Sep 12.

The U.S. top negotiator for the six-party talks, which involves China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan, came to China in July following the DPRK's missile test and talked with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei on pushing forward the nuke talks.

Source: Xinhua