A Foreign Ministry spokesman of North Korea said Friday that the
talks between North Korea and the United States were conducted "in
a positive and sincere atmosphere."
"A certain agreement was reached there," the spokesman was
quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as
saying.
"We paid attention to the direct dialogue held by North Korea
and the US in a bid to settle knotty problems in resolving the
nuclear issue," he added.
Negotiators from the United States and North K met in Berlin on
Jan. 16-18 to discuss issues concerning the resumption of the
six-party talks.
US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said his two-day meeting
with his North Korea counterpart Kim Kye-gwan, was "useful." It was
the first time that the two sides met outside Beijing over the
issue.
"We hope we can get (talks) going in January," said Hill, who is
also the assistant US secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs.
The six-party talks, involving the United States, the North
Korea, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, are aimed at
persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programs.
Under pressure, North Korea returned to the stalled talks in
December. However, the talks failed to make progress.
Later this week, Hill will visit South Korea, China and Japan
who are key partners in the talks, to discuss how to make progress
in the next round of six-party negotiations.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, said on Thursday that the talks
between Washington and Pyongyang will help establish a "positive
atmosphere" to solve the crisis.
(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2007)
