Pressing ahead, the six negotiators worked double time over the
past six days. Diplomacy and fortitude have paid off: The fifth
round of the six-party talks ended with an agreement.
It is an outcome that the international community has waited for
far too long. The breakthrough is a profoundly encouraging
achievement for the six nations, namely North Korea, South Korea,
Japan, China, Russia and the United States.
Coming to Beijing with a sense of optimism last Thursday, the
six negotiators entered into hard bargaining, particular on Monday
when they met and talked on multilateral and bilateral levels till
the early hours of the next day.
The longer-than-expected time this round of talks lasted was a
testament to the resolve North Korea and the US have shown in
moving the issue forward. Hopefully, this will continue to be a
driving force behind a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on
the Korean Peninsula.
The six parties have reached consensus on implementing the joint
statement inked on September 19, 2005. Yesterday's agreement is the
first step.
Part of the agreement, the establishment of five working groups
will help North Korea establish diplomatic relations with Japan and
the US.
That the fifth round of negotiations came to an end with the
progress displayed the vitality of the dialogue. Moreover, the
talks have very bright prospects as Chinese negotiator Wu Dawei
said. The negotiations in the past six days evidenced the
"extraordinarily strenuous efforts" from all negotiators.
The new agreement will give fresh momentum to the diplomatic
process. This is evidenced in the fact that for the first time, the
six negotiators fixed the date for the next round of talks before
they left Beijing.
There is every indication that the negotiations are finally on
the road to settling the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
Not so long ago, there was doubt over whether the talks could
move beyond stalemate. The successful end of the fifth round will
rebuild the international community's confidence in the
mechanism.
While different concerns remain among the six parties, they have
been working hard to reduce the differences.
Yesterday's agreement heralded a new and, hopefully,
far-reaching renewal of the six-party talks.
(China Daily February 14, 2007)
