North Korea's chief delegate to the six-way nuclear talks said he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic heading into the resumed talks Thursday in Beijing, declaring that many points of confrontation remained to be resolved.

Arriving in the Chinese capital Thursday, Kim Kye-kwan also said his country is ready to discuss initial steps toward nuclear dismantlement outlined in the September 2005 six-way agreement. But he added that Pyongyang's approach will depend on whether Washington drops its perceived hostile policy toward his country.

On North Korea's stance going in, Kim said the current phase of the dialogue is to mainly discuss the initial implementation steps, adding that his side is ready to talk.