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6 Parties to Start Drafting Common Document

Posted on: Friday, 29 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

The six parties of the ongoing talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue will start drafting a common document on Saturday, a Japanese diplomatic source said on Friday.

"Tomorrow, all the parties will start the drafting process for a common document," said the Japanese official who declined to be named.

But he did not say what the document would state.

The Six-Party Talks, which involve China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, will "enter a new stage," he told a press conference.

ROK deputy chief delegate Cho Tae-yong said on Friday that there will be another meeting of top delegates on Saturday.

Observers said the frequency of one-on-one meetings between the DPRK and the United States raised hopes that progress could be made in reaching an agreement on the first phase of action to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The two sides have held at least four one-on-one meetings since Tuesday, struggling to bridge their differences. And more such talks are expected.

The DPRK demands a US non-aggression accord and economic assistance while Washington insists on the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of the DPRK's nuclear programmes.

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said after his fourth one-on-one meeting with the DPRK envoy: "Still we have a lot of differences that remain."

"I don't want to suggest for a minute that this is going to be easy," Hill told reporters Friday evening.

Hill declined to speculate on how long the negotiations would run. Scheduled to continue on Saturday for a fifth day, they have already become the longest such talks to date. No timeframe for this round's end has been set, a departure from the previous three rounds that began in 2003, each lasting three days.

"It's not a matter of who goes first; it's a matter of a strategic commitment that the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is embraced by all," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on PBS television.

"We are prepared to roll up our sleeves and work for as long as necessary to make progress. But so far, the atmosphere has been very good," she said.

Scott McClellan, Press Secretary of the White House, said on Thursday that the United States wants to see progress made towards the goal of a denuclearized peninsula.

The chief of EU's foreign policy, Javier Solana, told reporters that he met with DPRK Foreign Minister Paik Nam Sun on the sidelines of an Asia security forum in Laos, and came away with the impression that Pyongyang is willing to find a solution, Xinhua reported. "I have the impression that the situation may look a little bit more optimistic," Solana said.

Source: China Daily; North American ed.

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