Kerry to join Lima climate talks

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State John Kerry will join the ongoing UN climate talks being held in Lima, as first week of negotiations in the Peruvian capital ended with no breakthrough, the State Department said Tuesday.

The top American envoy will be in Lima Thursday to "deliver remarks about the US commitment to address the urgent threat of climate change," the department said in a statement.

The Lima talks that run from Dec 1 to Dec 12 are aiming for a draft pact on climate change to be adopted at a UN climate conference slated for late 2015 in Paris, but first week of talks failed to make headway.

Kerry, who priorities climate change in his political career, will join high-level negotiations in Lima to be attended by ministers from other governments.