Envoys of the U.S. and North Korea continued negotiations in Hanoi for the fifth consecutive day to finalize the agenda for the two countries' second summit set to open in the Vietnamese capital this week.   

Choe Kang-il, acting head of the North American department of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, was seen entering Hotel du Parc in downtown Hanoi at around 2 p.m. on Monday. 

The U.S. delegation led by Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun has been staying at the hotel since last week. 

Around 30 minutes earlier, Alex Wong, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, was also seen returning to the hotel from an outing. 

Their negotiations are shrouded in secrecy, but it is speculated they have been discussing the progress of the North’s denuclearization as well as a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and humanitarian assistance for the North. 

Observers say the success of the summit will depend on how forward-looking Pyongyang will be in denuclearizing and what enticing “corresponding measures” Washington will offer in return. 

There is also a possibility some unresolved working-level agenda items could be addressed directly by the two top leaders during their two-day summit.

[Photo : YONHAP News]