Working-level officials from six countries have opened two days of talks to discuss a freeze-for-compensation deal in an effort to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Negotiators from the two Koreas joined officials from the United States, China, Japan and Russia convened in Bejing on Monday, but no details of their discussions were released to the media.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said negotiators outlined their basic positions on Pyongyang's proposal to freeze its nuclear program in exchange for economic and other concessions from dialogue partners including the U.S.

As the working session opened, the North Korean Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun issued a call for other negotiating nations to pressure the U.S. to discard its hostility toward Pyongyang.