South Korea’s top nuclear envoy to stalled six-way nuclear disarmament talks left for the United States Thursday for talks, hinting at a fresh momentum for a new round of talks.

Wi Sung-lac will meet with his U.S. counterparts to discuss ways to revive the moribund talks and Washington’s recent sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to local news reports.

His trip comes shortly after a visit to Seoul by Wu Dawei, Wi’s Chinese counterpart, who visited the DPRK last month. The two representatives discussed restarting the long-stalled talks over denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

It also follows a trip to China by Kim Jong Il, the DPRK’s leader, who met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Kim expressed hope for an early resumption of the talks during the summit.

The disarmament talks, involving China, the two Koreas, the U.S. , Japan and Russia, hit a snag when Pyongyang unilaterally pulled out of them in April 2009 in protest against the UN condemnation of its rocket launch.