BEIJING, October 11, 2009 (AFP) - The solidarity displayed by the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea at a summit in Beijing could put further pressure on Pyongyang to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks, analysts say.

The leaders, who met Saturday for three-way talks, called for the quick resumption of the long-stalled negotiations aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear drive, while also pledging to deepen regional cooperation.

The summit brought together Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak and host Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao -- who last week went to Pyongyang to discuss the issue with North Korea's Kim Jong-Il.

"The three regional powers having a strong common stance will have put pressure on Pyongyang," Joseph Cheng, a professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong, told AFP.

He added that if all the five nations in the six-party talks -- North Korea being the sixth -- show the same unified front, "then Pyongyang will realise that it's difficult to divide and rule, and therefore it has to come back to the negotiating table."

The six-way negotiations are hosted by China, a close ally of North Korea, and also include the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan.

North Korea said Monday during Wen's trip to Pyongyang that it was willing to return to the six-party disarmament talks it quit in April, but only if it first was granted direct negotiations with the United States.

Washington has said it would agree to bilateral talks within the framework of the six-party forum, but that the goal must be a complete end to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.

On Saturday, the three leaders said they would push "with other parties for an early resumption of the six-party talks, so as to safeguard the peace and stability in Northeast Asia," in a statement issued after the summit.

Wen said the door was open to make real progress, urging nations to "seize the opportunity and make the most of it."

Takehiko Yamamoto, a professor of international politics at Waseda University in Tokyo, said "the way is now paved" for Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table, thanks in large part to the Chinese premier.

"Wen's diplomatic achievement is highly significant," Yamamoto told AFP.

"There is no obstacle now that would hinder the US-North Korea talks to resume," he said.

"If the United States assures the North of the continued existence of its political system and its national security, I think it is possible to denuclearise the peninsula."

Pyongyang has consistently said that it needs nuclear arms in the face of what it says is a nuclear threat from the US.

At the summit, Lee said the three leaders had also agreed to cooperate on his "grand bargain" for North Korea -- massive aid and diplomatic and security guarantees in return for a firm commitment to total denuclearisation.

"This is unprecedented momentum for regional cooperation by Japan, China and South Korea," said Hitoshi Tanaka, a senior fellow at the Japan Centre for International Exchange in Tokyo.

"This is the first opportunity for the countries to agree on jointly cooperating not only for North Korea but also for general issues in East Asia," Tanaka, a former high-level diplomat, told AFP.

The three leaders committed to expand their cooperation "in the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing towards the future" -- a nod to their past disputes over Japan's wartime aggression.