The US and North Korean chief negotiators met face-to-face in Beijing yesterday on the eve of the fourth round of six-party talks.

It was their first contact since they met in Beijing on July 9 to discuss the resumption of talks.

No official details were available after the 75-minute discussion at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

US Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, however, told reporters before the talks that the meeting was aimed at helping the two sides "get acquainted" and "compare notes."

The two sides used to use what they called the "New York channel" to contact each other as the countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.

They had not had any substantive agreement after their face-to-face meetings in New York in May and June.

Reports from Tokyo said the US is ready to set up a liaison office - the lowest level of diplomatic representation - in Pyongyang if North Korea abandons its nuclear program. But Hill would not confirm the news.

Delegates of the six countries involved in the nuclear disarmament talks met last night for a dinner hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

Li said he hoped all parties concerned were aware of the importance of their mission and the need for joint efforts to achieve substantive results.

He said efforts should be made to resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue and peaceful means, to usher in a new era of reconciliation and cooperation in northeast Asia.

The dinner was one of the efforts amid a flurry of diplomacy to prepare for the restart of multilateral negotiations today.

Delegates have already engaged in bilateral meetings since arriving in Beijing.

South Korean chief negotiator Song Min-soon has met with Hill and his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae. He met the North Korean delegation on Sunday.

Song said his meeting with Hill focused on how to achieve their common goal - denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean side explained the outcome of Sunday's contact with North Korea to Hill.

Other diplomatic contacts before the formal talks include North Korea's meeting with Russia, and US meetings with China and Japan.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Sasae and Hill reaffirmed they would work together to achieve "substantive progress" during the upcoming six-way talks.

The Japanese side has said it will use the talks as an opportunity to tackle the issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea.

Piao Jianyi, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the chance of making substantive progress largely depend on the sincerity and flexibility of Pyongyang and Washington.

He said Pyongyang's commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons and Washington's changing of its "hostile policy" towards North Korea were key.

(China Daily July 26, 2005)