The delegations of South and North Korea met Wednesday afternoon, said Song Min-soon, head of the South Korean delegation.??

Song, also deputy foreign minister, said during a press briefing yesterday evening that the two delegations had a meeting staring at 3:00 PM and lasting more than one hour.

 

This is the third time for the two sides to hold a "one-on-one" meeting since the South Korean delegation arrived in Beijing July 23.

 

During their meeting, South Korea proposed a solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

Song said, "The two sides understand each other's stances clearly and they also reached some consensus on the proposal, which is very helpful to reducing differences."

 

He said North Korea and the US also contacted each other in the afternoon.

 

When asked to comment on the report that North Korea offered to give up its nuclear program if the US normalizes relations with it, he said the two sides need more contact to understand each other.

 

Thursday will see a meeting among the six delegation heads.

 

In the first plenary meeting held yesterday morning, every party gave a keynote speech, showing their particular stances to the other five parties.

 

"It is very inspiring to have made gains in the fourth round of six-party talks," he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2005)