All sides at the six-party talks in Beijing on North Korea's nuclear ambitions sent positive signals at the opening round today (Tuesday).
North Korea says banning nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula should be the main goal of the negotiations.
Chief U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said in his opening statement that the United States views North Korea as a sovereign nation and that Washington has "absolutely no intention" of attacking the Stalinist state.
After the opening talks, North Korean and U.S. delegates held a rare one-on-one meeting that sources said lasted at least an hour. The two delegations also met on Monday before the talks.
This fourth round of talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia is the first in more than a year.