Six-party talks enter the third day By (Xinhua) Updated: 2004-02-27 15:15
The second round of the six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue enters
the third day Friday at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in China's capital city of
Beijing.
The talks will start at 9:30 a.m. and consultations at the level of
delegation heads and deputy heads will be held from 10:30 a.m..
There is still no information to indicate how many days the talks, involving
China, the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic
of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, may last.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the DPRK put forward a proposal of
comprehensive stop of nuclear activities at the second plenary session at
Thursday's plenary session, and all parties considered the proposal a necessary
step for the realization of dismantling nuclear program.
Thursday discussions focused on the first-phase action and corresponding
measures for realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsular, the ministry said.
Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with delegation heads and related
foreign diplomatic envoys to Beijing Thursday afternoon.
Tang said the ongoing six-party talks had entered a pivotal phase of
discussing abolishing nuclear programs, safeguarding security and enhancing
economic cooperation.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is leading the Chinese delegation,
described the discussion on Thursday as "substantial". The differences were
gradually narrowing and consensus was growing even though there were still
different viewpoints, he said.
The first plenary session of the second round of six-party talks lasted over
four hours on Wednesday morning. The discussion was "calm and practical" and the
parties reached certain consensus, said Liu Jianchao, member of the Chinese
delegation, at a press briefing on Wednesday.
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