The six negotiations include the DPRK, China, Japan, Russia and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, the six delegations held bilateral consultations on the same day to make final preparations for the talks, which were resumed on December 18 after a year's break.

The DPRK alarmed the world by testing a nuclear weapon in October, prompting the UN to impose financial and arms sanctions.

UN sanctions were imposed on the DPRK after it tested a missile in July and then exploded its first nuclear weapon in October, leading to a wave of international condemnation.

The DPRK walked out of the last round of talks in November last year in protest at US restrictions imposed on a Macau-based bank linked to alleged money-laundering by Pyongyang.

Two months earlier, in September 2005, Pyongyang had agreed to abandon its nuclear programme in return for US security guarantees and aid in a deal that was hailed as historic.

BBC/VNA