BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Delegates to the six-party talks had finished the agenda for Wednesday's meeting and agreed to meet again Thursday, sources with the Chinese press center said.

    They didn't set the end date though the talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue had lasted a record nine days, the source said.

    A series of one-on-one contacts were held Wednesday for negotiators to exchange views on the latest draft common document that is aimed at establishing a framework for future talks on the eventual settlement of the nuclear issue.

    Earlier reports said a chief delegates' session was planned for Wednesday afternoon, but it was not held, which observers say may indicate the failure to make a "final comment" on the draft common document US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said the six delegations would make on Wednesday.

    Hill said Wednesday morning that the latest draft common document "narrowed differences" among all sides and an agreement could be possibly reached.

    He said that the draft, presented by the Chinese delegation, was "really designed to narrow the differences and maybe even got to the point where we can really agree on something."

    It should be the last version for the common document as the six delegations would make a "final comment" on the latest fourth draft on Wednesday, he said.

    According to him, the negotiators "are really getting close, close to the end of this round" of the nuclear talks.

    The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), another major part in the negotiation, in its first open statement on the current talks Tuesday afternoon, admitted differences existed between it and the United States.

    DPRK delegation head Kim Kye-gwan said that his delegation had hours of consultations with the US delegation over past days. "Though there are disagreements between the two, we wish to be able to minimize the differences and achieve a result in the talks," he said.

    Kim, also vice foreign minister of DPRK, said, "It is well known that our stance is whether we are going to give up our nuclear weapons and nuclear arms program depends on whether the United States will remove its nuclear threat against the DPRK and build up mutual understanding between our two sides."

    Kim's remarks followed what Hill had said Tuesday morning when the US assistant secretary of state told reporters the United States and the DPRK were "not able to bridge any differences" in Monday's one-on-one talks.

    It was still very difficult for the United States and the DPRK to reach mutual understanding even though there was "no problem" for the two to talk, said Hill. Enditem