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Christopher Hill, the top U.S. nuclear negotiator on Pyongyang, is most likely to be named Washington's policy coordinator for North Korea, sources here said Tuesday.

Currently assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, Hill is expected to double as both negotiator and coordinator, sources here said Tuesday.

"His appointment is most likely," one source said, asking not to be named.

"An announcement is expected sometime next week," the source said.

The 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law in October, requires President George W. Bush to appoint the North Korea policy coordinator within 60 days, which falls on Dec. 17.

The coordinator would conduct a full and complete interagency review of U.S. policy toward the North, including security and human rights issues, and provide policy direction for negotiations with Pyongyang.

Hill represents the U.S. in the six-party process that also involves South and North Korea, China, Russia and Japan. The goal is to have North Korea give up its nuclear weapons and program in exchange for political and economic incentives.

It would be the second time that a special envoy would be put to charge of talking to Pyongyang. Former Secretary of Defense William Perry served in the post during the Bill Clinton administration.

North Korean issues took on urgency after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear weapon test in October. In July, it test-launched a barrage of missiles, including a long-range Taepodong that theoretically can strike the U.S. west coast. Both led to United Nations Security Council resolutions of condemnation and sanctions.

The new coordinator is required to submit a report to the president and the Congress within 90 days of appointment on North Korea policy.

Washington, Dec. 5 (Yonhap News)