South Korean media Thursday followed closely the ongoing six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.  

China, the US, Russia, Japan, South and North Korea started the fourth round of six-party talks Tuesday in Beijing and have so far held two plenary sessions and various bilateral contacts within the framework of the multilateral talks.

The editorial of Hankyoreh (Korean Nation) Daily on Thursday observed that "there are many differences between North Korea and the US, but each looks very intent on negotiating, so the prospects are not gloomy."

The editorial also introduced the propositions put forward by the two important parties -- North Korea and the US -- in the past two-day discussions.

"North Korea wants diplomatic relations and mutual trust with the US as well as the removal of a nuclear threat toward it," Hankyoreh said.

"At least the minimum of a common denominator for negotiation has been established," observed the newspaper.

Hankyoreh also criticized the US, saying it is not proper for the US to bring up the issue of missiles and human rights in the talks, "because doing so disrupts the agenda."

The newspaper noted the differences between the stances of North Korea and the US is so much as Pyongyang concedes only to give up on its nuclear weapons program while Washington wants to see it give up all forms of nuclear development.

"It is not easy to narrow such differences overnight. In such situations it would be effective to first agree on a goal and procedures for arriving at that goal," commented the paper.

The editorial stressed that the "word for word, action for action" principle should be adhered to in the process of resolving the nuclear issue, and called on both North Korea and the US to simultaneously make strategic decisions.

Another influential local newspaper Chosun Daily Thursday commented on yesterday's plenary session of six-party talks as having revealed "larger-than-expected gaps between the US and North Korea as the two sides added more hard-to-resolve issues."

Chosun Daily observed that Washington wants North Korea to follow the examples of Libya and South Africa in yielding to its key demand unconditionally first.

"But Pyongyang says that is putting the cart before the horse. Instead, it wants diplomatic relations with the US and an end to what it sees as a regional nuclear threat to it before it acts on its nuclear program," said Chosun Daily.

The daily also quoted a South Korean government source as saying that the South Korean delegation expressed dissatisfaction with the US side in their bilateral contacts as the US raised human rights issue in the talks.

Chosun Daily, which has the largest circulation in South Korea, noted US chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill used "chairman" in referring to North Korean top leader Kim Jong-il, saying it marks "an improvement."

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2005)