North Korea and US nuclear talks 'narrow differences'

File image of Yongbyon reactor from February 2002 The US wants North Korea to commit to nuclear disarmament before talks can resume
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United States diplomats have said that the first day of direct talks being held with North Korea in Geneva was useful.

The talks are aimed at restarting negotiations on nuclear disarmament. It is the second such meeting in less than three months.

Chief US negotiator Stephen Bosworth said the talks were moving in a positive direction.

He said the two sides had narrowed some of their differences.

Mr Bosworth, who is the US special representative for North Korea policy, said that the US goal was to find a "solid foundation" on which to relaunch bilateral and multilateral talks with Pyongyang.

"We will continue to try to narrow differences," he told reporters in Geneva, after hosting a dinner for the North Korean delegation led by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan.

Six-party discussions involving North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the US broke down in April 2009 when North Korea walked out.

A month later, North Korea tested its second nuclear weapon, which was followed by increased tension on the Korean peninsula.

Although both sides say they want the six-party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme to resume, they disagree on the terms, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

North Korea has suggested they restart without preconditions while the United States wants a firm commitment from Pyongyang to disarm first.

But the fact these talks are taking place at all is a sign of improved relations since the dark days of 2009, when North Korea tested its second nuclear weapon, and 2010, when North Korean attacks along its disputed border with the South killed 50 South Koreans, our correspondent says.

US officials say the two-day talks are aimed at keeping North Korea engaged in discussions, but fall short of formal negotiations.

Washington and Pyongyang have just agreed to resume searching for the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean war of the 1950s, and in July, the foreign ministers of North and South Korea met for the first time in three years.

So although it seems unlikely there will be a swift resumption of the six-party negotiations, the talks in Geneva are being viewed as another positive step, our correspondent says.

At the very least, it is suggested, they may encourage North Korea not to proceed with a rumoured third nuclear test, she adds.

The US wants North Korea to adhere to a 2005 agreement it later reneged on - requiring it to give up its nuclear activities in return for security guarantees, aid and better relations.

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