US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applauded China's role in
restarting six-party
talks during her recent visit to Beijing. Experts also
attributed the resumption of talks to diplomatic endeavors by all
parties.
China has played a "very active" role in reinstating six-party
nuclear talks, which Rice considers "an important first step" to
settling the issue and realizing a nuclear-free Korean
Peninsula.
Rice made the remarks at a press conference held at the US
embassy in Beijing after her separate talks with Chinese President
Hu
Jintao, Premier Wen
Jiabao and her Chinese counterpart Li
Zhaoxing on Sunday morning.
China has been mediating the nuclear dispute between the United
States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North
Korea) since 2003. It has hosted several rounds of China-DPRK-US
negotiations and the six-party talks in Beijing.
The first round of six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK,
the US, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, was launched on
August 27, 2003 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in downtown
Beijing.
But after the third round, the DPRK pulled out citing the US'
policy of hostility.
On Saturday, the DPRK announced that it has agreed to
participate in a fourth round of six-party talks in the week
beginning July 25. The announcement was made after a reported
secret meeting between diplomats of the two countries in
Beijing.
"I think the Chinese have played a very active role in showing
North Korea what the path ahead might look like," Rice said,
considering it "a very good thing" for the DPRK to come back to the
talks.
When the DPRK announced in February this year that it was
suspending its participation in the talks, Wang Jiarui, head of the
CPC Central Committee International Department, sent a message to
the DPRK's leader Kim Jong-il.
Chinese State Councilor Tang
Jiaxuan is also scheduled to visit the DPRK from July 12 to 14
as a special envoy of President Hu Jintao, one week before the
expected fourth round of nuclear talks.
(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2005)