Second round of six-party talks to open on Feb. 25: FM

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Second round of six-party talks to open on Feb. 25: FM

The second round of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula will begin in Beijing on Feb. 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday, Feb. 3.

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The second round of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula will begin in Beijing on Feb. 25, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Zhang said at a regular press conference that she was entrusted to make the announcement and the date was fixed on the basis of consultations between all concerned parties.

The Chinese side is currently in discussions with other parties on the details of how to ensure a smooth progress of the talks, said Zhang.

Zhang said that the Chinese side has kept contacts and close consultations with concerned parties for a period of time and gradually expanded their consensus in order to continue the peaceful talks process and keep the momentum of solving the issue peacefully through dialogues.

All concerned parties agreed that conditions for the opening of the second round of the six-party talks have been in place, said Zhang.

She expressed her belief that all concerned parties will, in the spirit of mutual respect and equal consultation, push for substantial progress in the second round of the six-party talks by showing sincerity and flexibility to the utmost for cooperation.

The fixing of the date was a crucial step toward peacefully resolving the Korean nuclear issue through dialogue, said Zhang, adding that all parties concerned would contribute to resolving the issue as long as they showed sincerity and mutual respect, and conducted consultation on an equal footing.

China aimed to have a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, said Zhang. China hopes practical results would be achieved during the second round of the six-party talks, she said.

Zhang said the parties concerned expected to fix the consensus reached so far in written form, and the consultations in this regard had made much progress.

Zhang said the level of the second six-party talks would be the same as the first round talks, which were held in Beijing from Aug. 27 to 29, 2003.

Better results expected in February

The nations involved in the second round of six-way talks over the Korean Peninsula are hoping for substantial results this time around.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, the major parties concerned with the six-way talks, and China, the host country, have agreed to resume the next round of six-way talks on February 25 after having a series of discussions," the KCNA news agency released Tuesday.

Republic of Korea (ROK) Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, who led his nation's team during the first round of talks, was quoted by the Yonhap News Agency as saying "it may be difficult to have big expectations for a breakthrough from the (second round) talks, but the position of each party will become clearer."

Lee said that if the parties concerned can agree to form a "working group" during the second round of multilateral talks, it would be a "success." The working group of experts can handle more substantial and technical aspects of the issue, he said.

Moreover, ROK Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said the second round of six-nation talks should see more progress than the first session, reported Yonhap.

Jeong made the remarks while meeting with Kim Ryong-song, a top delegate of the DPRK team during inter-Korean ministerial talks. The DPRK delegation arrived in Seoul yesterday afternoon for the four-day 13th Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting.

Kim, the DPRK's cabinet counsellor, said during the meeting that "our agreement to the six-party talks is a product of our efforts to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully."

"It also means that our position is right and just," he added.

"The fact that the US is coming to the talks at all seems to indicate that it has reached a certain understanding of our basic demands," he said.

Asked about the talks, Japan's top government spokesman, Yasuo Fukuda said: "I am hoping for progress. It would be good if we could resolve all the problems."

In Moscow, Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, Russia's point man on North Korea, as saying: "Of course, one should not expect any breakthrough.

"The positions of the parties are too different," he was quoted as saying. He said the talks would still be useful if they could clarify what could qualify as DPRK's commitment to give up its nuclear programme.

On Monday, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in Tokyo that the stalemate was a "dangerous and unstable situation."

In a meeting with Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister Yukio Takeuchi Tuesday, Armitage agreed that Japan, the United States and the ROK had to continue to co-operate to achieve a peaceful solution to the issue.

Earlier, James Kelly, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said he was "mildly optimistic" about the prospect of new talks and that the United States and other regional players were working closely to realize them.

By People's Daily Online

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