The Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that the fifth round of
six-party talks will begin on November 9 in Beijing.
The talks, aimed at resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean
Peninsula, involve China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South
Korea. The first round of talks was held in August 2003 in
Beijing.
At a regular press conference, the ministry's spokesperson Kong
Quan did not say how long the negotiations would last, but said
that "holding the talks by phases this time around could have a
better result" as chief negotiators might also be attending the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit slated for
mid-November in Pusan, South Korea.
Experience has also shown that it is a "good idea" to hold the
talks in phases, he added.
"We hope the participants in the new round of negotiations could
have an in-depth exchange of views on the consensus reached in the
last round," he said.
"If all parties could take commitment to commitment and action
to action based on the joint statement reached at the last round,
and earnestly push forward the discussion and agree to take further
steps, there would be positive results," Kong said.
The last
round of talks ended on September 19 with the adoption of a
first joint statement. North Korea pledged in the statement to
abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and
return, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons.
According to the statement, the US affirms that it has no
nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention of
attacking or invading North Korea with nuclear or conventional
weapons.
Frequent multilateral and bilateral contacts have been made
since the end of the last round. Although this fifth round will be
difficult, all parties still hope it will achieve progress and are
trying to create a good atmosphere for the upcoming talks.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told visiting President Hu Jintao
last weekend that his country would go ahead with the fifth round
of talks as scheduled.
North Korea and Japan held bilateral talks yesterday in Beijing.
North Korean chief delegate Song Il-ho and his Japanese counterpart
Akitaka Saiki, also deputy head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and
Oceanian Affairs Bureau, discussed the issue left over from the
past as well as the upcoming six-party talks.
"We don't think the six-party talks are the best arena for North
Korea and Japan to discuss the issue left over from history, and
they should consult with each other within the bilateral
framework," Kong said.?
Turning to Sino-US relations, Kong said US President George W.
Bush will meet with Chinese leaders during his upcoming visit.
Kong said Bush will hold talks with Hu and meet with Premier Wen
Jiabao respectively.
It is the fifth meeting between Hu and Bush, Kong noted, adding
that the two sides are expected to exchange views and reach a
consensus on bilateral relations as well as international and
regional issues of common concern.
Bush is scheduled to visit China from November 19 to 21 after
attending the APEC summit.
Kong announced that, at the invitation of the Tunisian
government and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Vice Premier Huang Ju
will attend the Tunis Phase of the World Summit on the Information
Society.
At the invitation of the Equatorial Cuinean government,
President Festus Nogae of Botswana and Prime Minister Jacques Sylla
of Madagascar, Huang will also visit the three countries from
November 14 to 24, Kong said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)