The first day of the second round of six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue have seen "certain consensus" reached among delegations, although disparities remain.?

 

The talks, participated by China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, opened at 9:00 am Wednesday in Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the same venue hosted the first round of the talks last August.

 

Liu Jianchao, deputy director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Information Department, described the atmosphere of the first-day session talks as "calm and down-to-earth".

 

In their opening remarks, heads of the delegations expounded their respective positions on resolving the nuclear issue.

 

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the six parties' gathering in Beijing represented the strong political aspiration for peace of the governments of the six nations.

 

"We come to the talks to expand our common ground, not to highlight our differences; to settle problems, not to escalate conflict," Wang said.

 

Kim Kye-gwan, deputy foreign minister of the DPRK, said the second round of talks is an important opportunity to decide the direction of the six-party talks and the DPRK will insist on principles, exercise flexibility and cooperate well.

 

James Kelly, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, crediting the talks as a reliable channel to solve the nuclear issue, promised that the US side will be devoted to resolving the issue through diplomatic means and hopes the talks can achieve concrete progress to lay foundation for further process.

 

Lee Soo-hyuck, ROK's deputy foreign minister, Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Alexander Losiukov, Russian deputy foreign minister, all expressed hopes that the parties will further expand common ground with sincere attitudes and the talks will yield positive results.

 

During the four-and-a-half-hour morning meeting, all sides agreed that a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is in the interest of all nations involved and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia, according to Liu Jianchao.

 

Liu said the parties have all agreed to seek a peaceful solution to the Korean nuclear issue, and decided that no matter how difficult the talks could be, the process should continue.

 

Besides, all sides agreed to take coordinated steps to resolve the nuclear issue and address the concerns of relevant sides, sharing the view that actions are the most effective way for building trust.

 

Experts maintained that the six parties' opening remarks displayed their flexibility and patience in solving the nuclear issue.

 

"Although the DPRK and the United States still have differences, they have expressed their strong will for a fruitful result," observed Shen Jiru, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

 

Wednesday afternoon, the DPRK and the United States held their first bilateral meeting of the second talks.

 

The talks have drawn worldwide attention. More than 30 journalists from major Chinese and foreign media were allowed into the guesthouse, and outside its east gate, another 100-strong reporters waited long hours in the cold wind.

 

The talks will resume Thursday, according to official sources.

 

First day 'important beginning' of six-party talks

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in Beijing Wednesday that the discussions and various forms of contacts during the first day of the six-party talks marked "an important beginning" for seeking a solution.

 

Li made the remarks at a banquet he hosted for the delegates of the six-party talks, which started on Wednesday morning.

 

 

The six parties firstly held a plenary session of the second round of Beijing talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.

 

Li said all sides showed willingness and a flexible attitude for resolving the issues. They released certain active information and expressed ideas and proposals for tackling the problem, adding that there are a number of common points in the discussion, Li said.

 

He admitted that there are still differences on the stances of different sides, including "some relatively large differences."

 

All these demonstrated that the solution to the nuclear issue requires a process to narrow the gap between different sides, he said.

 

He hoped all sides would not avoid differences in discussions in the coming days. All sides, however, "should not allow differences to impede the process of the dialogues, even divert the direction of seeking political solution to the problem", he said.

 

Only if all sides maintain reason and patience and show political wisdom and flexibility with mutual compromise, can the differences be reduced and consensus be reached, Li said.

 

In such a way, the concrete goals and framework can be set for resolving the issue, the minister said.

 

He hoped the second round of talks would bear concrete results because such an end "is in the interests of all sides and complies with the aspiration of the international community," he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2004)