All the six parties involved in the talks pertaining to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue have held "substantial discussions" for the solution to the issue at the talks' second-day session.??

Cho Tae-yong, deputy delegation head of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to the talks, gave the remark at a press conference in Beijing Thursday afternoon.

 

Through discussions, he said, all relevant parties have become aware that significant differences remain between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States, but there is also the common ground.

 

Cho, also director-general of the ROK Foreign Ministry's task force on the DPRK nuclear issue, held that the delegations to the talks should take substantial consultations as a starting point to press ahead toward the solution to the issue.

 

At the plenary session Thursday morning, the delegation heads of Japan and Russia enunciated their respective stances on the resolution of the issue and had an exchange of views concerning the proposals offered by the DPRK, the US and the ROK on Wednesday, while the US delegation voiced its opinions on the program of "freezing for compensation" set forth by the DPRK delegation and on the ROK delegation's proposal, according to Cho.

 

The DPRK and US delegations had bilateral talks for two hours and ten minutes in the afternoon, Cho said, and the ROK and Chinese delegations also held bilateral talks during the day.

 

The third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan, is being held from Wednesday to Saturday.

 

The talks are scheduled to start the third-day plenary session at 9:30 am Friday.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2004)