Top US envoy in Asia James Kelly had a first round of low-key nuclear talks in Beijing with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday.

The negotiations, which also involved China as an active third party, marked the first direct dialogue since the crisis over the DPRK's nuclear program erupted in October.

Kelly declined comment as he returned to his hotel in the afternoon after hours of talks inside the Diaoyutai State Guest House, a vast compound in western Beijing.

But the mere fact that negotiations were under way after six months of steadily deteriorating relations between Washington and Pyongyang was a good sign, analysts said.

"If they can agree that there will be another meeting, that in itself will be sufficient,'' said Brian Bridges, a Korea expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University.

"If it can make both sides step back from the brink, that will be important,'' he said of the talks, scheduled to end tomorrow.

The DPRK negotiators were led by Li Gun, the foreign ministry's deputy director for US affairs and a former senior member of his country's delegation to the United Nations.

China was represented by Fu Ying, director of the foreign ministry's department of Asian affairs.

The nuclear crisis began in October after Kelly, after a visit to Pyongyang, accused the DPRK of harboring a secret nuclear program.

The DPRK reacted strongly, expelled international nuclear arms inspectors, pulled out of a key nuclear pact and test-launched land-to-sea missiles.

Prior to Wednesday's talks, Chinese leaders held several meetings with both DPRK and US officials.

Vice-Marshal Jo Myong-rok, the visiting head of the DPRK army's political bureau, met on Tuesday with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Shortly after his arrival on the same day, Kelly held talks with China's Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi, having a "productive meeting to discuss the upcoming talks,'' a US embassy official said.

China has repeatedly said it wishes to see a peaceful resolution to the Korean nuclear issue and has made consistent efforts towards that end.

"We hope the talks will help the parties to understand each other's positions more clearly and ease the current tension,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Tuesday.

The DPRK originally insisted on bilateral talks with the United States, cutting out the Republic of Korea from the process, while the US Government called for a multilateral format.

The trilateral talks seem to have provided an acceptable compromise.

(China Daily April 24, 2003)