BEIJING, Feb. 14 -- China on Friday expressed support for the resumption of high-level talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK), calling for tangible results.

The DPRK and the ROK resumed talks between senior officials on Friday morning after failing to reach any specific agreement in the first meeting two days earlier.

"The restart of the talks shows the willingness of the DPRK and the ROK to improve bilateral ties, and China encourages and supports this," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing.

As a close neighbor, China has always encouraged the DPRK and the ROK to improve ties and promote reconciliation via dialogue, said Hua.

"We hope the two sides can grasp the opportunity to ease tensions in the region," she told reporters.

Five-member delegations from the DPRK and the ROK started a second round of dialogue at around 10 a.m. local time on Friday at the Peace House, an administrative building on the South Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjeom, as agreed, Seoul's Unification Ministry said.

The delegations were led by the same figures as the first meeting. The ROK's chief delegate was Kim Kyou-hyun, deputy director of the presidential national security office. The DPRK delegation was led by Won Dong-yon, deputy head of the United Front Department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.