PYONGYANG, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday invited Christopher Hill, U.S. chief negotiator to the six-party talks on nuclear issue, to visit Pyongyang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

    "If the United States has made a political decision to truly carry out the joint declaration, we will again invite the head U.S. delegate to the six-party talks to visit Pyongyang and have a direct explanation with us," said the spokesman in a statement carried out by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

    The DPRK has always wanted to hold talks directly with the United States on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, but the United States emphasized the six-party talks as the best forum for negotiations.

    "If the U.S. is reluctant even to have a face to face talk with the other party, it will be impossible to find a solution to the problem (nuclear issue) forever," the spokesman said.

    During the fourth round of six-party talks held in September last year, the six parties adopted a joint statement to establish a framework for a solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

    The six-party talks, involving China, the United States, the DPRK, South Korea, Russia and Japan, was suspended since last September.

    The United States began to impose economic sanctions against the DPRK shortly after the latest session of the talks last September while the DPRK set the lift of the sanctions as precondition for the talks. Enditem