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4th round of six-country nuclear talks begins
Six-party talks aimed at defusing a three-year-old crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions opened in Beijing on Tuesday, one day after Pyongyang and Washington held a rare one-on-one meeting. China Chinese Foreign Ministry Li Zhaoxing Tuesday urged negotiators to show flexibility and hold a pragmatic attitude to seek "positive" progress in the new round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Li said at the opening session of the fourth round of the six-party talks that realizing the a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and maintaining long-term regional peace and stability is in the interests of all parties concerned. "Adhering to the process of peaceful talks is the sole correct choice," he said. China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan are involved in the talks. Li said the the six parties reached a consensus in the last three rounds of talks on three aspects, including adhering to the goal of realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, the direction of the process of peaceful talks and maintaining peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. He said all the parties should cherish the consensus, which was also broadly welcomed by the international community. The fourth-round six-party talks was originally scheduled for September last year. Li said after waiting for more than one year, the international community is expecting new progress in the new round of talks.
As differences remained, "The talks will probably encounter various difficulties and disturbance," the Chinese foreign minister said. However, he believed that through a step-by-step process, the solution would be finally reached. The Chinese side will continue to coordinate and cooperate with the other parties and make unremitting efforts to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and maintain regional peace and stability, he said.
DPRK (North Korea) The North Korean envoy to six-nation talks on his country's nuclear program said Tuesday the central issue was to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and said his delegation was ready to work toward that. "The fundamental thing is to make real progress in realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan said in a statement at the opening session of the talks. "This requires very firm political will and a stragegic decision of the parties concerned that have interests in ending the threat of nuclear war," Kim said to fellow envoys from China, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Russia. "We are fully ready and prepared for that." Kim's statement, broadcast live on Chinese television, didn't include any new proposed concessions or negotiating demands. US The United States regarded the sovereignty of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a fact and it has no intention to dispatch troops or attack the DPRK, said Christopher Hill, head of the US delegation and US Assistant Secretary of State.
Noting that the six-party talks is at a crucial moment, Hill said there may exist many different options to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, but the best choice is to conduct negotiation through the six-party talks.
Avoiding problems is not a solution, he said at the opening ceremony of the fourth round of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Hill said the United States has always hoped that the six-party talks could be resumed as early as possibly since the third round of the talks in June last year.
In the past year when the six-party talks was suspended, the US side had one-on-one contact with the DPRK for six times under the framework of the six-party talks, he said.
During the contacts, the US side had made clear its key stance and opinions to the DPRK, and the United States is ready for "serious" talks under the same framework, he added.
Russia Russia adheres to a nuclear-weapon free Korean Peninsula, said Alexander Alexeyev, head of the Russian delegation and deputy foreign minister.
The package solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue that Russia has proposed is not behind the time and Russia could revise it if necessary, he said at the opening ceremony of the fourth round of the six-party talks.
Japan Japan will make positive contribution to a possible substantive progress in the fourth six-party talks, said Sasae Kenichiro, head of the Japanese delegation and director general of the Asia and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, here Tuesday.
Sasae Kenichiro said, "Japan believes the six-party talks is the best framework for the peaceful settlement of the Korean nuclear issue."
The Japanese delegation will cooperate with the other five delegations closely with a flexible and constructive attitude in pushing forward the six-party talks, he added.
In his speech at Tuesday's opening ceremony, Sasae Kenichiro also urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to completely abandon all of its nuclear programs. The abandonment will be in conformity with the common aspiration of the international community and with DPRK's own interest, Sasae Kenichiro said.
He noted that to resolve the Korean nuclear issue is a precondition for Japan to normalize its relationship with DPRK. Other preconditions include settlement of missile and abduction issues, according to Sasae Kenichiro. ROK The Republic of Korea (ROK) Tuesday urged all parties concerned to concentrate on trying to realize the target of building a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula. "It is not ideal for the parties concerned to distract from this target during the new round of the six-party talks," said Song Min-soon, head of the ROK delegation and deputy foreign minister. Analysts here noted Song might be referring to Japan's plan to put forward the abduction issue during the talks. Song described the talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue as a framework to promote the realization of a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula, saying that all the parties concerned should take care of each other's stance and respect each other's interests during the talks. The ROK had proposed previously that if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed to give up its nuclear program, the ROK would be ready to "provide 2 million kilowatt-hour of electricity annually" to the DPRK by building a cross inter-Korean border power line. "This proposal could become the key to resolve the nuclear issue," said Song. The ROK hoped the DPRK would give up its nuclear program, and the other countries concerned would make definite promise to realize normalization of bilateral relations with the DPRK and provide security guarantee to the DPRK," Song said.
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