WASHINGTON, April 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Diplomats of the United States,Japan and South Korea held private talks in San Francisco, California Wednesday on the nuclear issue of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), US officials said.

    The talks among the three allies, which were held at a San Francisco water front hotel, were not openly mentioned.

    During the two-day talks beginning on Wednesday, the diplomats from the three countries will discuss ways to quickly start lower-level working groups that were agreed upon during the last round of six-way nuclear talks among China, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the DPRK.

    Diplomats taking part in Wednesday's talks are US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-Hyuck and Japanese Foreign Ministry Director General Mitoji Yabunaka.

    The second round of six-nation talks were held in Beijing on Feb. 25-28 and they agreed to meet again before July and decided to create working groups to resolve obstacles to future high-leveltalks.

    US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that the second round of six-party talks held in Beijing achieved "a good deal of progress" in seeking a solution to the nuclear issue of the Koreanpeninsula.

    The United States has demanded a "complete, certifiable and irreversible dismantlement" of the DPRK nuclear programs. Enditem