China's N Korea nuclear pointman in Pyongyang

SEOUL - China's top negotiator on the North Korean nuclear issue, Wu Dawei, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The one-line report gave no details of his itinerary.

Wu is China's chief negotiator to the six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme.

The talks grouping China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia have been stalled since December 2008.

China, North Korea's sole major ally and key economic benefactor, has grown increasingly frustrated with its pursuit of a nuclear deterrent in the face of near-global condemnation.

Following the North's third nuclear test in February, China signed up to a toughening of the UN sanctions regime already in place against Pyongyang.