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Beijing. Amid cautious optimism, US and North Korean envoys met on Thursday for their first talks on dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear programs since the death of the country’s longtime leader Kim Jong-il.

The discussions will be closely watched for signs of a more cooperative approach from North Korea, which stands to gain food aid, economic help and diplomatic concessions in return for taking steps to end its efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

The countries were on the verge of a deal to have Washington provide food if Pyongyang suspended its uranium enrichment program when the agreement was upended by Kim’s Dec. 17 death.

“Today is, as we say, ‘game day.’ We will have an opportunity to meet with First Vice Foreign Minister Kim and his team,” US envoy Glyn Davies said before the start of morning talks with Kim Kye-gwan at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing.

The two were due to hold a second session on Thursday afternoon at the US Embassy.

The talks in Beijing, the third round since July, are ostensibly aimed at restarting wider six-nation disarmament negotiations that also involve China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. Pyongyang walked away from those talks in 2009 and later exploded its second nuclear device.

Additional steps may still be needed before a resumption of the six-nation talks. The North may first request food shipments, while the United States and its allies want assurances Pyongyang is committed to making progress on past nuclear commitments.

North Korea has rejected South Korean offers to talk in recent weeks, and animosity between the rivals still lingers from violence in 2010.

Associated Press