The six parties for the Korean peninsula nuclear issue have basically reached an agreement on the draft joint document, Japan's head delegate to the six-party talks Kenichiro Sasae said Sunday.

"Further progress has been made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in the joint document. Meanwhile, all parties have shown the understanding of pushing forward the relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States and Japan," Sasae told reporters at his hotel.

As to the economic and energy assistance to the DPRK and the future orientation of the talks, all delegations have reached an agreement in the document, said Sasae, refusing to reveal more details.

The process of the current phase of the talks is difficult, but all sides have made sincere efforts for reaching an agreement, he said.

Concerning the peace and stability of northeast Asia, it is highly important to resolve the pending issues between the United States and the DPRK, and those between Japan and DPRK, he said.

During the meetings held between Japan and the DPRK, both sides agreed that, despite the difficulty in improving and developing the Japan-DPRK relations, the two countries should conduct frequent and close consultations and carry out sincere dialogues to resolve the unsettled issues with common concerns, including the history and the abduction issues, he said.

The heads of delegations will contact their governments for the final approval of the document during the two-day recession, he said, adding that the document will be publicized with the consent of governments of all the six parties.

(Xinhua News Agency October 1, 2007)