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Six-party talks to continue on Sunday
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-09-18 08:46 For most Asian diplomats and
reporters aspiring for mid-autumn festival reunion holiday, they still have to
stay here for another day or so as the talks on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue
did not break deadlock or recess Saturday.
The negotiators from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, have
presumptively set Saturday for deadline of the talks resumed Tuesday.
The talks will continue on Sunday, said Chinese delegation spokesman Liu
Jianchao Saturday,but giving no specific timetable for the talks.
Japanese delegation chief Kenichiro Sasae is dissatisfied with the current
situation for the talks. "At present, I see no concessions," said Sasae,
speaking in Japanese. "The talks will go on Sunday, but the prospect is not so
bright."
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo hosted a dinner in honor of chief
delegates at western Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Saturday evening to
mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important traditional festivals in
China, ROK and DPRK.
In China, the Mid-autumn festival falls on Sunday this year with reference to
lunar calendar. Eating mooncakes while enjoying the full moon is a must for
Chinese during their family reunion. For the two neighbors in Korean peninsula,
the festival goes from Sept. 27 to 29.
"The draft common document China presented is the most realistic scenario for
the parties to reach an accord, an excelled piece of work all the parties
created," Dai spoke to the chief delegates.
China set forth a new draft common document on Friday, shedding a gleam of
hope that the nuclear talks could avert a breakdown amid great differences. The
draft document involves the DPRK's right to civilian nuclear programs and a
light-water reactor, said Russian negotiator Alexander Alexeyev Friday.
If passed, the document will be the first of its kind since six-party talks
was launched in 2003.
But Alexeyev said the talks will get into another recess if all the parties
cannot reach an agreement on the draft by Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, chief negotiators again conferred on the draft common document
proposed by host China, and held a flurry of bilateral contacts. Yet the DPRK
and the United States remain far apart, blocking the outcome of an agreement on
principles.
The DPRK and the United States, the two main parties at the talks, showed
little sign of concessions Saturday. The DPRK delegation insisted on its right
to civilian nuclear programs, especially a light-water reactor, while the US
side rejected the DPRK's demand, saying it is not on the table.
The DPRK has not voiced its opinions on the draft. The country maintained
firm stance on its demand for a light-water reactor Friday, saying Pyongyang
could accept joint management and inspection after a light-water reactor is
built.
"In order to establish mutual trust and consider the US concerns, we can
accept joint management and inspection after a new light-water reactor is built.
This demand is not unreasonable," said the DPRK delegation spokesman Hyon
Hak-bong.
Hyon said the DPRK will continue to pursue peaceful nuclear programs in its
own way no matter whether the United States would provide the country with a
light-water reactor.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Washington would not
depend wholly on the talks to resolve the Korean nuclear issue and is taking
measures to prevent proliferation.
"We're not sitting still, you know, we're working on anti-proliferation
measures that help to protect us," Rice said ina interview of New York Post on
Thursday. "We are not wholly dependent on negotiations to get this done,"
according to a transcript released by the US State Department.
Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill held a third one-on-one meeting with
DPRK chief Kim Gye-gwan Friday morning since the resumption of the talks
Tuesday. Hill said he had "good discussions" with Kim. "We are still in
business," Hill said.
"But at this moment I don't know where those (discussions) would lead," Hill
told reporters after a luncheon with ROK and Japanese delegation heads.
The ROK delegation chief Song Min-soon said the six-party talks are now at
"the critical moment". The outcome rests on whether the parties could reach an
agreement on the draft document presented by host China, said Song Friday.
The first three rounds of six-party talks ended inconclusively.The fourth
round began in late July and then went into five-week recess on Aug.
7.
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 | | | Sculpture exhibition to mark the war victory | | |  | | | Children of migrant workers receive education in Guiyang | | |  | | | Chaerhan Salt Lake | | |
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