The six parties to the Korean Peninsula nuclear talks held a plenary session this morning with the resumption of multilateral talks, stressing to resolve the nuclear standoff in line with the principle of "action-to-action."

 

The chief negotiators of the six parties made key-note speeches at the plenary session, and elaborated their respective stance on implementing the joint statement adopted by all parties during the fourth round of talks in September 2005, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

 

The six delegation heads also put forward relevant proposals and ideas in their speeches.

 

Wu Dawei, Chinese chief negotiator and vice foreign minister, said the September 19 statement gleaned the consensus of all parties, and was a "political declaration" for the goal of denuclearization as well as a "guiding document" that should be observed by all parties.

 

The topic for the second stage of the fifth-round six-party talks today focused on how to concretely implement the joint statement in line with the "action-to-action" principle, he said.

 

The other five chief negotiators expressed appreciation for China's efforts in resuming the talks.

 

They also reiterated their pledge to fulfill the commitments made in the September 19 statement, realize denuclearization through dialogues and peaceful means, and achieve normalization of diplomatic ties between relevant countries as well as long-lasting peace in northeast Asia.

 

The second phase of the fifth-round six-party talks, involving China, the US, Japan, Russia, North and South Korea, was launched this morning after a stalemate of 13 months.

 

Chief negotiators of the six-party talks gathered at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, initiating a new round of negotiation on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

 

They agreed that the hard-won six-party talks should be cherished. The parties should seize opportunities with specific measures and steps to implement the September 19 statement in line with the principle of "action-to-action" and the attitude of facing up to the future.

 

The six chief negotiators also vowed to strive for "positive progress" out of the fresh round of talks with "flexible" and "pragmatic" attitude.

 

Chun Yung-woo, head of the South Korean delegation and assistant minister of foreign affairs and trade, told reporters there are "three common points" among parties concerned during this round of talks, namely to settle the nuclear issue through peaceful negotiation, to find out a scheme to implement the September 19 statement, and to achieve "substantial" progress in the talks.

 

Chun told reporters he would have bilateral consultation with the US delegation this afternoon.

 

Launched in 2003, the six-party talks have been held for five rounds. However, the talks had remained stalled since November 2005 after North Korea walked out of the negotiation in response to US sanctions.

 

At the end of last month, chief negotiators of the US, Japan, North and South Korea came to Beijing to join their Chinese counterpart in laying the groundwork for resuming the talks.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2006)