State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, special envoy for President Hu Jintao, arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday to pave the way for a new round of six-party talks on nuclear disarmament. 

He met with Pak Bong-ju, premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to discuss bilateral relations and other important issues of common concern.

The three-day visit comes ahead of the expected resumption of six-party talks and days after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concluded a 20-hour visit to Beijing on Sunday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao confirmed yesterday that the resumption of negotiations on the DPRK's nuclear development program would be high on Tang's agenda. He said China, host of the six-party talks, has begun arrangements for the meeting, and although no exact date has been set, the negotiations are expected to take place during the week beginning July 25.

He said China would like to see the fourth round of talks produce "practical results."

"On the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, no matter how complicated, we are confident that dialogue and diplomacy can solve the problem," he said.

Negotiations between China, the DPRK, US, South Korea, Russia and Japan began in August 2003 but have been stalled for a year after the third round in June 2004, when the DPRK accused the US of hostility.

After talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura yesterday, Rice told a press conference, "We are both hopeful the talks will be successful.... But what we really need is a strategic decision on the part of the North (the DPRK) that they are indeed ready to give up their nuclear weapons, because without that, the talks cannot be successful."

Machimura said it was important for the DPRK to participate in the fresh round of talks in a "serious and constructive manner."

Japan, South Korea and the US will hold a high-level meeting later this week in Seoul to discuss coordination on issues concerning the DPRK. The three countries have previously held similar strategic talks when there were significant developments concerning the peninsula's nuclear issue.

(China Daily July 13, 2005)