BERLIN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Negotiators from the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday ended their talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, which the U.S. side described as "useful."

    U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill said his two-day meeting with his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-gwan, was "useful." It was the first time that the two sides met outside Beijing over the issue.

    However, the results of the talks, which were aimed at working out solutions over how to make progress when the six-party talks resume, remained unknown, the German dpa news agency said.

    "We hope we can get (talks) going in January," said Hill, who is also the assistant U.S. secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

    The six-party talks, involving the United States, the DPRK, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan, are aimed at persuading Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programs.

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

    Later this week, Hill will visit South Korea, China and Japan who are key partners in the talks, to discuss how to make progress in the next round of six-party negotiations.

    Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, said on Thursday that the talks between Washington and Pyongyang will help establish a "positive atmosphere" to solve the crisis.