The ongoing six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuke
issue have been extended to Friday with a "new consensus" achieved
after intense negotiations.
"The six chief negotiators agreed to continue the talks on
Thursday and Friday," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang
Yu told reporters on Wednesday evening.
"We feel it is worth continuing these discussions," Assistant US
Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters late
Wednesday.
Formally known as the second phase of the fifth round since
2003, the talks resumed on Monday after a 13-month suspension and
bring together China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan and
Russia.?
"New consensus has been reached in the resumed talks thanks to
all parties' arduous efforts," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
said in a meeting with all six chief negotiators Wednesday
afternoon.
The fresh consensus, as Li announced, included all parties
reiterating the implementation of the September joint statement, a
peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula
through dialogue and the adherence to a common vision of a
nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
The ongoing talks focused on the implementation of the joint
statement in September 2005.
Under this joint statement, the DPRK would abandon its nuclear
program and receive economic aid and security guarantees.
On Wednesday, several one-on-one meetings were held, including a
"lengthy meeting" between Hill and his DPRK counterpart Kim
Kye-gwan.
On the sidelines of the six-party talks, US treasury officials
and their DPRK counterparts held their second day of financial
negotiations, with progress looking hopeful.
"I thought the meeting was business-like and useful," Daniel
Glaser, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Department's,
told reporters Wednesday night at the hotel.
Glaser, who is leading the US delegation, held five-hour talks
with President of the DPRK's Foreign Trade Bank O Kwang Chol in the
DPRK embassy Wednesday.
No details of the talks were released, but Glaser stressed the
DPRK should "underline the concerns of the international financial
society."
"We also discussed the possibility of meeting next month,
perhaps in New York," he said, confirming his delegation will
return home tomorrow.
Financial sanctions imposed on the DPRK remain a key stumbling
block stalling the six-party talks.
The two-day negotiations between the DRPK and the United States
are a "positive sign" of improvement in bilateral relations,
spokesperson Jiang Yu said.
"It is not quite possible for this-phase talks to achieve
significant breakthrough, but minor achievements may be likely,"
said Jin Linbo, a researcher with China Institute of International
Studies.
"Certainly we are talking about much more than just agreeing on
things on paper," Hill said. "We were discussing actual development
on the ground. Whether we are successful at the end of the week,
time will tell."
On Thursday, Hill will meet again with his DPRK counterpart.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2006)