South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together for substantial progress in the six-way talks, reaffirming that the North should not be recognized as a nuclear power.

Vice Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns met in Seoul Tuesday to discuss strategies ahead of the multilateral nuclear talks.

A joint news statement said both parties agreed to conduct close and in-depth consultations on resuming the six-party talks and formulating strategies.

However, the Foreign Ministry said the two sides did not discuss Seoul's expanded role in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative and inter-Korean business ventures which the United States believes are a souce of cash for the North Korean leadership.

The move was apparently made to avoid conflict ahead of the resumption of the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program this month or in early December.