BEIJING, Muharram 20, 1433, Dec 15, 2011, SPA -- A top U.S. diplomat was to hold talks with North Korea in Beijing Thursday on the possibility of resuming food aid to the country, UPI cited the State Department as saying. U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Robert King and U.S. Agency for International Development senior official Jon Brause were to meet with Ri Gun, North Korea's chief diplomat on U.S. affairs, the State Department said. Ri also serves as North Korea's deputy nuclear negotiator to the so-called six-party talks, seeking to find a peaceful resolution to security concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The Beijing meeting "follows up on conversations we've had in the past about whether the United States will provide nutritional assistance to North Korea," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Wednesday. She said "nutritional assistance" was different from "food assistance." It refers not to "sacks of rice or cans of food" but to vitamin supplements, high-protein biscuits and other provisions specifically for "populations in need," she said. Washington doesn't want the food to end up "on some leader's banquet table," she said. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said Washington was expected to offer children's biscuits and infant formula, rather than rice, which Pyongyang wants but which Washington fears could be redirected to North Korea's military as well as communist leaders. Nuland said before Washington agrees to any aid, it would need to be assured "much more strict and clear monitoring systems" were in place to make certain the food reaches those most in need. Pyongyang says the program can be discussed during the talks. --SPA 10:21 LOCAL TIME 07:21 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/952645