Paraphrased by:
Steve Waldrop
August 29, 2003

After many months of threats and jockying for positon, North Korea and the United States met for their first direct talks to discuss the nuclear standoff that has had Asia and much of the world on edge for nearly a year. The six-nation talks are being held in Beijing.

Both of the main parties achieved a little of what they've been demanding: the United States got its multilateral forum and, North Korea got its one-on-one meeting with the Americans.

Despite this small sign of progress, some of the participants, which includes officials from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, said there was little cause for optimism that the two sides would make any movement from their entrenched positions.

The United States wants to see North Korea unilaterally dismantle its nuclear weapons program, while North Korea first wants formal security guarantees.

"I would not say I an feeling great optimism," Interfas news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov as telling Russian reporters.

"The situation is quite fragile. First of all, that has to do with contacts between the American and North Korean delegations."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted government spokesman Shin Bong-kil as saying neither North Korean nor American officials offered any concessions in their opening remarks.

But it added that the deputy head of the South Korean delegation, Wi Sung-lak, said the North Koreans expressed a "strong desire" to resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue.