Xinhua - English

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The working group on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will hold its first meeting on March 17 in Beijing, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang here on Tuesday.

The meeting will precede the sixth round of the six-party talks which will begin on March 19, Qin said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei will head the working group, said Qin at a regular press conference.

During the last round of talks, the six parties adopted a joint statement, and later reached consensus on the initial steps to implement the joint statement.

The steps included establishing five working groups, which will discuss the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, DPRK-U.S. relations, DPRK-Japan relations, the economic and energy resources cooperation, and peace and security of northeast Asia.

Qin said, he hoped all the working groups will report to the meeting of chief envoys on March 19.

Some issues may be submitted for discussion during the meeting of chief envoys from the six participating countries which are China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, Qin added.

The time frame for the new round of the six-party talks will depend on the progress being made, Qin said, adding that no detailed arrangements have been made for the upcoming talks.

Qin said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei met United Nations' chief nuclear inspector to Pyongyang, Mohamed El Baradei, on March 12 and briefed him on recent developments.

Qin said Baradei's visit to the DPRK is an important step for the DPRK and the IAEA and he hopes Baradei's visit will achieve positive results.

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IAEA chief arrives in Pyongyang for nuclear talks

Mohamed ElBaradei (L), head of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is greeted by Son Mon-san, the international department chief of DPRK Atomic Energy General Bureau (AEGB) at the airport in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), March 13, 2007. (Xinhua Photo/Gao Haorong)
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