Beijing - International negotiators on Wednesday tried to reach a compromise on verifying the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, as the latest round of negotiations entered its third day.

The talks in Beijing, attended by negotiators from the United States, China, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea, centered on a draft verification protocol proposed by the Chinese hosts.

Delegates from China, the US and North Korea held bilateral meetings in the morning to clarify their positions and remove any potentially ambiguous passages from the text.

"We are in the process of deepening discussions to reflect each country's position than narrowing the differences," South Korean chief negotiator Kim Sook was quoted as saying by South Korea's official Yonhap news agency.

After consultations with Washington, the US delegation added several points, also regarding the question of environmental sampling.

"There are some additional comments received from Washington, "I think the key thing is to figure out whether this is a draft that everyone can work on or not," US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said.

North Korea refuses to allow international inspectors to take environmental samples at nuclear sites to verify it the dismantling of its nuclear weapons programme. Yonhap, quoting unnamed sources, said a "rough consensus" had been reached.

The latest round of six-party talks, the first in more than five months, was originally scheduled to end Wednesday, but could be extended, officials said. (dpa)