Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in Moscow Monday that the final date for a second round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsular has yet to be decided and there is little possibility that the negotiations will be held in January.  

Delegates from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), South Korea, Russia, China, the United States and Japan, which are the six parties involved in the multilateral negotiations, have failed to work out a final document for the second round of talks, Losyukov noted.

The second round in January "was still possible, but chances were slim," Losyukov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

"We think there is no need to hurry. We'd better prepare the meeting well and reach agreement on a final document so that we have a foundation for further progress," he added.

The Russian official said the reasons for the failure of working out a final document for the second round were "mistrust and excessive demands on each other" by Washington and Pyongyang.

The first round of negotiations on the DPRK nuclear issue was held in Beijing in last August with participation of representatives of the six nations, but no agreement was reached on the date for the next round of such talks.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2004)