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Work remains to be done on negotiating the disablement of North Korea's nuclear programs, and talks will continue until the plenary six-nation forum next month, the U.S. State Department said Friday.

"I think in a lot of areas there were some overlap, still work to be done," spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, describing the concluded working group meeting in China as a session for "putting on the table various ideas" rather than negotiations.

"So I think they are going to keep focusing on that so that when you get to the plenary session of the envoys, you actually know what the outcome of that session is going to be, and that it's a positive outcome," McCormack said.

Officials from South and North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, members of the so-called six-party process, ended a two-day meeting in the Chinese city of Shenyang that honed in on the declaration and disablement of Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

Under a Feb. 13 agreement, North Korea is to submit a list of its atomic inventory and take steps to make the nuclear facilities inoperable. In return, the five other governments would provide Pyongyang with political and economic benefits.

Pyongyang came through with the initial steps by shutting down its key nuclear installations.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. atomic watchdog, said North Korea was cooperating with its efforts to monitor the shutdown.

A report to be presented to the agency's board of governors next month said the IAEA has verified the shutdown and is continuing to implement the ad-hoc monitoring and verification arrangements with the cooperation of Pyongyang.

Negotiators in Shenyang called their session "positive and friendly," but it was clear they had not agreed on the hows and whens.

"I think we were able to cover a lot of ground. I think, most importantly, people came prepared to discuss the issues (involved)," U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said.

"I think we now have the basis for achieving consensus on these issues and consensus on the way forward."

Lim Sung-nam, deputy chief of the South Korean delegation to the nuclear talks, agreed the Shenyang meeting was "meaningful," as it provided an opportunity to learn what the reclusive North had in mind.

"There were active consultations and question-and-answer sessions, and through these procedures our understanding of the North's position has significantly deepened," Lim said
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Yonhap)