US says talks with DPRK 'good beginning'

SEOUL- A U.S. envoy said Saturday the latest round of talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) marked a "good beginning" in efforts to resume stalled talks over ending its nuclear program.

Glyn Davies, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, arrived in Seoul earlier in the day to brief Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's top envoy to the six-party talks, on the two-day talks in Beijing between him and his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-kwan.

Davies said Friday there was "a little progress" in the Beijing talks, the first since the death of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Il last December stalled discussions over possible U.S. food assistance to the DPRK.

Before meeting Lim, the U.S. diplomat played down hopes for immediate resumption of the talks, saying, "We are so long away from anything like that."

"(The Beijing talks marked a) good beginning with the new government in the DPRK," Davies told reporters after sitting down with Lim.

"We agreed that the DPRK-U.S. talks provided a useful opportunity for discussions over resuming the six-party talks," Lim said.

The disarmament talks, which also involve China, Japan and Russia, were last held in December 2008. The DPRK unilaterally quit the forum in April 2009 but has expressed its wish to return to the negotiating table.