US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said in Beijing Wednesday
evening that the first meeting between the delegations of the US
and North Korea?"did not make a lot of progress" as the
resumed six-party talks entered the second day.
"I must say it is a meeting that we did not make a lot of
progress," said Hill, adding that the US delegation based its talks
on the fourth draft of a common document while North Korea demanded
a light water reactor which is not included in the draft.
"They should focus on the elements that are on the table," Hill
said, adding North Korea's insistence on including light-water
reactor into the discussion is the major problem.
The draft common document proposed by China during the
first-phase of the fourth round of talks ending in early August did
not discuss a light water reactor, Hill said.
He said the fourth draft is "a conventional energy proposal,"
including security guarantees, economic assistance and improved
relations between the US and North Korea.
"No body is prepared to fund the light-water reactor," said
Hill.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2005)