Representatives of the six-party talks Tuesday ended their first-day negotiation of the working-level talks on the economy and energy cooperation at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The closed-door negotiation, attended by representatives from North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, was held at the "House of Peace" on the South Korean side.

The main task of the talks is to reach an agreement on how to provide 950,000 tons of heavy oil or equivalent energy assistance to North Korea under an agreement reached in the six-party talks in February.

The representatives didn't give comments after Tuesday's meeting.

The working group meeting is one of several scheduled for August after the North last month shut down plants at Yongbyon which produced plutonium for its nuclear bombs.

The shutdown, the first step in a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal, was rewarded with 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil from South Korea.

It will also get major diplomatic and security benefits, such as normalized relations with its old enemies the US and Japan.

The South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted an unnamed South Korean official as saying that North Korea proposed in the meeting concepts for what can be called "consumption-based assistance" and "investment-based assistance." The official didn't give further details.

Earlier on the day, South Korean chief delegate Chun Yung-woo said "it is important (for North Korea) to specify in detail what it wants."

The working-level meeting is set to finish on Wednesday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2007)