U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is set to hold talks in Seoul with South Korean officials on how to revive stalled nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea following the death of Kim Jong Il.

Campbell is expected to meet Thursday with Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's top negotiator to six-party talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid.

Campbell arrived in Seoul Wednesday after spending two days meeting with officials in China. He is also expected to meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan before heading to Japan on Friday to wrap up his four-day diplomatic tour.

Japan, China, Russia, the United States and the two Koreas are participants in the six-nation nuclear talks, which Pyongyang abandoned in April 2009.

Earlier this week, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he was optimistic that 2012 could be a turning point in the North Korean nuclear dispute.

Pyongyang has hinted that it would like to return to the six-party talks, but without preconditions set by the U.S. and South Korea.

Washington and Seoul say Pyongyang must first shut down its uranium enrichment program and take other steps to demonstrate its sincerity.