A "new consensus" has been reached at the ongoing six-party
talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing said yesterday.
All parties reiterated "the implementation of the September 19
joint statement, peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue on the
Korean Peninsula through dialogue, and the adherence to the common
target of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," Li said.
Negotiators are seeking to implement the joint statement issued
during the fourth round of talks last year, in which North Korea
committed to jettison its nuclear program in exchange for aid and
security guarantees. But it boycotted the talks two months later in
protest against US financial sanctions.
Li made the remarks when meeting the heads of the delegations to
the multilateral negotiations, which involve China, the US, Russia,
Japan, North and South Korea.
"Parties concerned should give priority to formulating plans for
full implementation of the joint statement and take action to
fulfill their own commitments in the joint statement," Li said, as
negotiations look set to continue at least until tomorrow.
By yesterday, 24 bilateral consultations were held between the
six nations at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing as the
talks that resumed after a 13-month hiatus entered the third day,
according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The US and North Korea continued a second day of bilateral
meetings and parallel discussions on a dispute over Washington's
financial sanctions against Pyongyang's companies for alleged money
laundering and counterfeiting.
The chief US negotiator said last night that the US side felt it
"worth continuing" the discussion.
"We feel it is worth continuing this discussions," Assistant
Secretary of State, Christopher Hill, told reporters at the hotel,
adding the US side was "encouraged about the progress and pleased
to stay a couple of days."
During a meeting with North Korean top negotiator Kim Kye-gwan
on Tuesday, Hill was reported to have offered a four-stage
proposal, which specifies security and other rewards North Korea
can expect if it halts the operation of its plutonium-producing
nuclear reactor as a first step toward abandoning its entire
weapons program.
This is the first concrete US proposal made at an official
dialogue table. However, Kim was reported to have not responded
directly to the proposal, repeating only his country's position
that Washington should first drop financial sanctions imposed last
year.
The contact between the US and North Korea for two days in a row
shows "a positive sign" of improving bilateral ties, the Chinese
delegation's spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, said at a media briefing
yesterday.
Commenting on the three days of talks, she said: "The
negotiations are deepening, the focal point is becoming clear and
the consensus is widening."
South Korean chief envoy Chun Yung-woo said the parties
initially set today as the deadline for this week's talks, but
agreed to continue the session as "serious and substantial
consultations" are under way.
"The North's top priority is clearly what they call financial
sanctions," Chun said, adding that "the participating nations
reached a consensus that it is necessary to continue talks for a
few more days rather than having a recess."
Chun's comments are seen as a signal that the two main players,
the US and North Korea, were narrowing their differences on key
sticking points.
He did not rule out the possibility that the ongoing session
will continue through the weekend.
(China Daily December 21, 2006)
