WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - North Korea has begun moving around some previously stored equipment at its Yongbyon nuclear plant but does not appear to be trying to rebuild the facility, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

"To my knowledge, based on what we know from the folks on the ground, you don't have an effort to reconstruct, re-integrate this equipment back into the Yongbyon facility," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

He said Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill, the lead U.S. negotiator with North Korea, would leave for Beijing on Thursday to consult Chinese officials.

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