U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill has described his talks with Kim Kye-Gwan, top nuclear negotiator from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Berlin as useful and productive, the State Department said on Wednesday.

"Chris described the conversations he's had over the last couple of days as being useful and being productive. It's a good opportunity to exchange views and exchange information," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said of the meeting in Berlin.

For the second consecutive day, Hill and Kim Kye-Gwan met in Berlin to discuss how to resume the six-party talks and ensure the six-party talks to make "real progress."

"Hopefully we can continue to build on that, and we'll be able to reconvene the (six-party) talks sooner rather than later," Casey said.

The United States has said that the six-party talks, involving the United States, the DPRK, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan, are expected to resume this month.

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 held in Beijing in December. However, the talks failed to make progress.

Source: Xinhua