The delegations of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue agreed Friday afternoon to continue their meetings on
Saturday as the parties concerned will continue to work for
narrowing down differences.
The talks are yet to touch upon conclusion or drafting a joint
statement, said an official of the South Korean delegation on
condition of anonymity.
The parties concerned will continue to discuss how to narrow
down differences and push forward this round of the six-party
talks, said the official.
This round of talks has already lasted longer than the previous
three rounds, but few signs of progress had been made so far.
The talks set no deadline for its duration since they started on
Tuesday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.?
The fourth-round six-party talks are markedly characterized by
one-on-one consultations and contacts.
The US and North Korea, the two major parties to the talks, have
carried out their fourth consultations on Friday, but no immediate
information is available. The two sides are reported to have
another one-on-one meeting Saturday.
According to the?South Korean?official, the bilateral
consultations among the delegations have transformed from formal
meetings to small-scale contacts so that they could exchange ideas
and seek consensus in a more flexible, frequent and close
manner.
The?South Korean?delegation has had bilateral contacts
with the US, North Korea and Russia respectively following its
90-minute consultations with the US on Friday morning, said the
official.
The meeting among the delegation heads agreed on Friday
afternoon to continue their meetings on Saturday. The meeting will
be followed by more one-on-one consultations, said the
official.
There is no word on when the talks will close, nor will the
talks be suspended, said the official. However, neither conclusion
or drafting a joint statement was talked about at the meeting of
the delegation heads on Friday afternoon.
Since Russian delegation head Alexander Alexeyev will leave
Beijing for Moscow on Saturday due to domestic affairs, the
delegation deputy will remain in Beijing, said the official.
If necessary, Alexeyev will come back again to participate in
the talks, the official added.
(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2005)