The four-day third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue concluded in Beijing Saturday morning and the parties made public a Chairman's Statement.

 

Following is the full text of the statement:

 

1. The third round of the six-party talks was held in Beijing among the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Russian Federation (Russia) and the United States of America (USA) from June 23 to 26, 2004.

 

2. The heads of delegations were Mr. Wang Yi, vice-foreign minister of China; Mr. Kim Kye-gwan, vice-foreign minister of DPRK;Ambassador Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general for Asian and Oceanian Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Ambassador Lee Soo-Hyuck, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of ROK; Ambassador Alexander Alekseyev, special envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia; Mr. James A. Kelly, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, United States Department of State.

 

3. In preparation of the third round of the six-party talks, two sessions of the Working Group were held in Beijing from May 12to 15 and from June 21 to 22, 2004. The parties approved the Concept Paper on the Working Group in the plenary.

 

4. During the third round of the talks, the parties had constructive, pragmatic and substantive discussions. Based on the consensus reached at the second round of the talks, as reflected in its Chairman's Statement, they reaffirmed their commitments to the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and stressed the need to take first steps toward that goal as soon as possible.

 

5. The parties stressed the need for a step-by-step process of "words for words" and "action for action" in search for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue.

 

6. In this context, proposals, suggestions and recommendations were put forward by all parties. The parties welcomed the submission of those proposals, suggestions and recommendations, and noted some common elements, which would provide a useful basis for future work, while differences among the parties remained. The parties believed that further discussions were needed to expand their common ground and reduce existing differences.

 

7. The parties agreed in principle to hold the fourth round of the six-party talks in Beijing by the end of Sept. 2004, at a date to be decided through diplomatic channels with due consideration to the proceedings of the working group. The parties authorized the working group to convene at the earliest possible date to define the scope, duration and verification as well as corresponding measures for first steps for denuclearization, and as appropriate, make recommendations to the fourth round of the talks.

 

8. The delegations of the DPRK, Japan, the ROK, Russia and the USA expressed their appreciation to the Chinese side for its efforts for the success of the third round of the six-party talks.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2004)