Negotiators from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) continued their meeting in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss how to make "real progress" when the six-party talks resume, the State Department said on Wednesday.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and DPRK's negotiator Kim Kye-Gwan attended the meeting, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

"These were a continuation of yesterday's discussions and were designed to make sure that when we reconvene the six-party talks that there's real progress that can be made in them," Casey said.

"And our expectation at this time is that this meeting he had today would be the last session that he would have on this trip with the North Koreans," Casey said, adding that Hill will continue his consultations in other countries like China, South Korea and Japan.

The two sides began their meetings in Berlin on Tuesday.

During the round of six-party talks in September 2005, the DPRK signed a statement agreeing to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees from the United States and other countries. However, the DPRK refused to return to the talks as a result of U.S. financial sanctions.

Under pressure, the DPRK returned to the talks in December held in Beijing. However, the talks failed to make progress.

Source: Xinhua