US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly yesterday had a first round of low-key talks in Beijing with "axis of evil" foe North Korea on the communist country's nuclear weapons program.
The negotiations, which also involved China, marked the first direct dialogue since the crisis over North Korea'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 guarded by paramilitary police.
But that negotiations were actually happening 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 North Korean 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 UN.
China was represented by Fu Ying, director of the foreign ministry's department of Asian affairs.
Kelly's presence at the talks was not without irony, as his visit to Pyongyang in October precipitated the drama, when he accused the Stalinist state of having a secret nuclear program.
North Korea reacted furiously, threw out international nuclear arms inspectors, pulled out of a key nuclear pact and test-launched land-to-sea missiles, as it raised the stakes in the confrontation.
But given the speedy US victory in Iraq, and the boost it has given to hawks in Washington, North Korea may be reconsidering its position, according to analysts.
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