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 date for a second round of talks was given after months of intensive
shuttle diplomacy since the first six-party session ended without progress in
August. The talks may be clouded by revelations that the father of Pakistan's
atomic bomb had confessed to selling nuclear secrets to DPRK, as well as Libya
and Iran.
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. "
Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander
Losyukov as saying Moscow had yet to receive official confirmation of the dates,
but expected to be notified soon.
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.
China's Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday:"We hope all sides involved will, in the spirit of mutual respect
and equal consultation, push for substantial progress in the talks by showing
the utmost sincerity and flexibility for co-operation.''
The date was fixed on the
basis of consultations between all concerned parties, which include DPRK, the
Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States, China, Japan and Russia, Zhang said.
The Chinese side is now in discussions with other parties on the details of
ensuring the talks will go smoothly.
China has remained in close contact with all parties involved over a period
of time, and gradually expanded their consensus in order to continue the
peaceful talks process, Zhang said.
At present, all concerned parties agreed that conditions for the opening of
the second round of the six-party talks are in place, she said.
As in the first round of talks, the Chinese delegation will be headed be
Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said Zhang, but denied to disclose the identities
of officials from other delegations.
The first six-party talks were held in Beijing from August 27 to 29 of last
year. Participants at that time agreed to hold talks in the future to resolve
the nuclear issue, sowing the seeds for the second round talks of this month.
And in late April of last year, China, the United States and the DPRK had
held three-way talks in Beijing to try to resolve the standoff over the DPRK's
nuclear weapons programme.
The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue became serious in January of last year,
when DPRK Ambassador to the United Nations Pak Gil-yon announced the DPRK had
decided to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
