BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Envoys from the six
nations gathered in Beijing on Monday for a fresh round of talks on removing
nuclear programs from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"I propose the talks focus on three issues," Chinese
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei said in his opening address late Monday
afternoon.
"First, verification; secondly, implementation of the
remaining second phase action plan; and thirdly the establishment of a peace and
security mechanism in northeast Asia."
The talks, also involving the United States, Republic
of Korea(ROK) Russia and Japan, got under way in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in
western Beijing.
"Since our last meeting in July, all parties have
kept in close communication and consultation and registered some progress, which
China deeply appreciated," Wu said.
Last week, chief U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and his
DPRK counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, met in Singapore. The talks were reported to be
substantive, but the two parties failed to reach a deal on sampling of atomic
materials.
Chinese top nuclear negotiator and Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei (1st R, front) addresses a fresh round of talks on the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on Dec. 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Photo Gallery>>>
"We should participate in the meeting with a flexible
and pragmatic attitude. We need joint efforts to narrow differences and lay a
solid foundation for promoting talks into next phase," Wu said.
The Chinese host also called on the six nations to
continue to adhere to the principles of "word for word, action for action" and¡±
phased implementation."
Monday's talk lasted about one hour, with the issue
of verification topping the agenda.
"We discussed fuel oil, the issues of disablement
schedule and verification," Hill told reporters at China World Hotel Monday
night.
"On fuel oil and disablement, there were no really
contentious issues," said Hill.
The difficulty lies in how to verify DPRK's nuclear
program.
"The Chinese have some ideas on how to approach the
issue. What China is trying to do now is to put together a draft and circulate
something tomorrow(Tuesday)," Hill said.
"It has to do with the verification. The key element
will be what we did in Pyongyang. As you know we want to see some further
definitions of this."
Sunday night, the U.S. envoy said the objective of
this round of talks was to produce a verification protocol and a clear road map
of what parties need to do to complete the verification.
Under an agreement reached at the six-party talks in
February 2007, the DPRK agreed to abandon all nuclear weapons and programs. It
promised to declare all its nuclear programs and facilities by the end of 2007.
In return, DPRK would get diplomatic and economic incentives.
The six parties agreed to a disarmament schedule in
October 2007. The DPRK said it has slowed down that process because of sluggish
economic compensation.
On Saturday, DPRK vowed to ignore Japan at the talks,
citing Tokyo's refusal to send aid to the country as part of the agreement.
Before Monday's talks began, the Chinese delegation
held a series of preliminary bilateral meetings with the other five parties.
Despite recent tensions, the DPRK and ROK delegations
also held a rare bilateral meeting before the talks opened.
Launched in 2003, the six-party talks was a
vice-minister level mechanism aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Envoys from the six nations to the Korean Peninsular nuclear talks gather to hold talks in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, on Dec. 8, 2008. A new round of the six-party talks is begun here Monday afternoon for a fresh round of talks on the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). (Xinhua/Wang Jianhua) Photo Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming talks on the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue will focus on producing a protocol and a roadmap
to verify the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), chief U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said on Sunday.
"We need to get a verification protocol. We need to have a
clear roadmap of what we need to do to complete the verification," Hill told
reporters Sunday night. Full story
PYONGYANG, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday said it welcomed the reopening of six-party
talks in the coming days in Beijing, wishing to resolve issues that hinder the
progress of the talks.
The DPRK believes that the upcoming six-nation talks
should have two tasks. One is to "ensure the speed of economic compensation" to
the DPRK as promised by the other five parties, and the other is to "achieve
common understanding of the issue of verification," said a spokesman of the DPRK
Foreign Ministry in a statement. Full story
PYONGYANG, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) will not hold talks with Japan in the upcoming
six-nation talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, the official KCNA
said Saturday.
"We will neither treat Japan as a party to the talks
nor deal with it even if it impudently appears in the conference room," the KCNA
news agency cited a spokesman for the DPRK foreign ministry as saying. Full story
PYONGYANG, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s official Minju Joson daily on Wednesday urged the
United States and South Korea to abandon their hostile policies towards the DPRK
on the eve of a new round of nuclear talks. Full story
BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday called for
joint efforts from all parties in the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue to push for new progress.
"China has proposed to hold the six-party chief
negotiators meeting on Dec. 8, and is in contact with other parties over the
final schedule," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang. Full story
BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday confirmed that its diplomats and
diplomats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) met to discuss
how to move forward the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.
Full story
PYONGYANG, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Ministry of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) publicized on Wednesday the main
points of the verification deal reached with the United States in early October,
refusing requests for sampling in its nuclear facilities, the official KCNA news
agency said. Full story
