PYONGYANG -- Japan and North Korea on Sunday got off to a smooth start in their first diplomatic dialogue in almost two years, aimed at easing a decade-long discord between the two neighbors, an official said.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials from the two countries kicked off the first day of two-day discussions at the People's Palace of Culture in central Pyongyang.

"The meeting began with frank discussion," said a Japanese Foreign Ministry official after attending the morning session.

"We put all the agenda on the table," the official said, adding that no particular dissonance had surfaced.

"We will have concrete discussions from now on," the official said, who asked for anonymity.

The historical enemies suspended rapprochement talks in October 2000 after Tokyo focused on the alleged kidnapping of its nationals by Pyongyang, which in turn demanded compensation for Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea.

"We have problems to solve, but don't have plenty of time," Hitoshi Tanaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told the opening session.

"We hope we can take a big step toward resolution of the problems" through the two-day meeting, Tanaka said.

Ma Chol-su, director general for Asian Affairs in the North Korean Foreign Ministry, described the talks as "encouraging," saying the two sides would try to map out "work for the future" of the two countries. Ahead of the meeting, a Foreign Ministry official said: "We would like to begin discussion with broad issues, and then the talks will cover other issues, including kidnapping."

The meeting came after Pyongyang signaled a shift from its hardline stance to a more conciliatory approach.

Pyongyang already surprised Tokyo on Saturday by setting up a meeting between the Japanese delegation, led by senior diplomats, and North Korea's Premier Hong Song-nam, No. 4 in the communist nation's power structure.

"The arrangement showed that (North Korea) appears to put emphasis" on the delegation's visit, a Foreign Ministry official said.

During the Saturday meeting with Hong, the Japanese delegation delivered an unprecedented message from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

In the message, Koizumi assured the North Korean leader that Tokyo was ready to work together to mend their troubled ties by solving problems between the two countries.

"I would like your country to also tackle these issues sincerely and seriously," the Japanese premier said.

The North Korean premier said progress in Japan-North Korea talks would benefit the two countries and the entire region, but stressed Tokyo's apology and wartime compensation were prerequisite to a normalization of dialogue.

"We are ready to normalize diplomatic relations if Japan sincerely handles past issues," Hong said.

The Japanese delegation expressed regret for Japan's aggression in the Korean peninsula before and during World War II, while underlining Tokyo's demand for the return of Japanese missing in North Korea.