BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- China has welcomed the start of the first high-level talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in seven years, expressing hope for a better relationship between Pyongyang and Seoul via dialogue.

"We welcome the talks between the two sides, and wish that they yield positive results," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing on Wednesday.

China has always encouraged the DPRK and the ROK to improve ties and promote reconciliation via dialogue, according to Hua.

"We hope the two sides can redouble their efforts to push forward the improvement of North-South relations and ease up tensions in the region, " she told reporters.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said that five delegates from the DPRK and ROK started a dialogue around 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday in the Peace House, on the ROK side of the truce village of Panmunjeom, as scheduled.

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