Delegation of the 6 nations seated at the meeting table before the start of nuclear talks

BEIJING, August 27 (IslamNOline.net & News Agencies) - The United States and North Korea met Wednesday, August 27, on the sidelines of six-nation talks to defuse the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear programs, but Russia said neither side showed signs of flexibility.

U.S. envoy James Kelly and the North's chief negotiator Kim Yong-Il huddled for 30 minutes during a break on the first day of talks in Beijing aimed at working out a compromise to the 11-month standoff, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

The U.S. delegation turned down Pyongyang's demand that it sign a non-aggression treaty, saying that North Korea must first abandon the nuclear program it resumed in October, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, who attended the talks, said Pyongyang and Washington set conditions at the start of the crunch discussions that were blocking movement in negotiations.

"So far, they have set out a series of preliminary demands that are blocking the progress of negotiations," Losyukov told the ITAR-TASS news agency.

He said that North Korea "would like to be free of nuclear weapons" but at the same time feels "a threat from the United States."

ITAR-TASS also reported that North Korea told the meeting it had no nuclear weapons, although this was swiftly denied by both South Korean and Japanese delegates.

"There was no such expression indicating if it has nuclear weapons or not," Wi Sung-Lac, director general of North American affairs at the South Korean foreign ministry said.

The two sides, however, did have two chances to exchange views one-on-one during the day, first on the sidelines of the multilateral gathering.

"U.S.-North Korean bilateral contact lasted 30 minutes. We saw it, we were in the same conference room," another South Korean official said.

Later, Kelly and Kim also had a chance to talk via interpreters for 60 minutes as they were seated together at a formal dinner arranged by the Chinese hosts, said a South Korean official, who did not know what they discussed.

Pyongyang had initially insisted on discussing the nuclear standoff only with Washington, but agreed to the multilateral talks on condition that the two countries discussed the issue bilaterally as well.

"Big Step"

China called the resumption of dialogue a "big step" forward while South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Shin Bongkil said the talks proceeded in a "calm, quiet and smooth way."

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing late Wednesday urged the participants at the talks to "seek common ground" and create "a sound atmosphere for later dialogue", state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In the United States, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said his country and North Korea were not sliding towards an "unthinkable" war.

Asked by U.S. regional reporters whether he was concerned that the two Cold War foes were edging towards a potential conflict, Armitage replied: "No."

The United States wants the regime's nuclear programs dismantled before it considers economic assistance and diplomatic normalization.

But North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper Wednesday said the country would not back down unless it was first given U.S. security guarantees.

Washington must "clarify its will to make a switchover in its hostile policy with the DPRK and conclude a non-aggression treaty with it", the Pyongyang mouthpiece said.

The three-day talks at the Diaoyutai state guest house are being attended by the United States, North Korea and the Stalinist state's four neighbors -- China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

Kelly, who sparked the crisis last October by saying North Korea had admitted having a secret nuclear program in violation of a 1994 bilateral accord, has made no comment so far.

Washington believes North Korea diverted enough plutonium for around two nuclear weapons prior to the 1994 accord and could produce half a dozen more within months from reprocessed spent fuel.

China, which with Russia has urged the United States to address the hermit state's security concerns, said the fact both countries were taking part in talks was a positive step.

And despite slender hopes of a thaw, Japanese officials said all delegates had showed a "willingness to cooperate actively to produce a result".

Tokyo has its own agenda and put the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents on the table in their opening address.

China, the North's closest ally and aid provider, has been instrumental in arranging the talks and has urged all sides to be "calm and patient" in their approach and not to push their positions too hard.

China, North Korea and the United States engaged in the previous round of talks which broke down without real progress.