SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea held "productive" discussions with a top U.S. nuclear envoy, with both sides agreeing to cooperate on a resumption of international talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program in early July, the North's state media reported Saturday.

It was the communist North's first official response to Christopher Hill's trip to Pyongyang, the highest-ranking U.S. visit since October 2002.

Hill — the main U.S. envoy to the North Korea nuclear talks — made the surprise trip to Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday, meeting with his negotiating counterpart as well as the North's foreign minister.

 Source: International Herald Tribune