The change of delegation head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the upcoming six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue drew wide attention from the international community on Tuesday.  

Earlier reports said the DPRK's Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan was named delegation head for the second round of talks due to open at 9 am (Beijing time) Wednesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il was the DPRK delegation head for the first round of talks held in August 2003.

In response, Kim Kye-gwan said the DPRK was delighted to see the attention paid by the international community to the change.

He held pre-talks consultations with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi soon after his arrival at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the venue for tomorrow's talks.

Wang, also head of the Chinese delegation, told Kim that China believed the DPRK had been earnest and serious toward the talks since the very beginning.

"In my view, no matter who is the head of the delegation, the DPRK always takes a serious and responsible attitude," Wang said.

Before leaving Pyongyang, Kim said the DPRK would do its best to achieve "good results" at the talks.

"The circumstance of the talks is better than the previous occasion, and we hope that we can cooperate closely with China and Russia," Kim said at the Sunan airport, stressing that "the talks will be difficult".

The proposal put forward by the DPRK on the issue accorded with US interests, Kim said, noting that if the United States changed its policies, the nuclear issue could be resolved.

Kim also said the issue of the abduction of Japanese should not be on the agenda of the talks and he asked the Japanese side not to take "hasty action".

The delegation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) also arrived Tuesday morning, marking the arrival of all six delegations in Beijing. The ROK delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Soo-Hyuck, made no comment on his arrival at the airport.

The heads of the other three delegations are Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry; Alexander Losiukov, Russian deputy foreign minister; and James Kelly, US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.

With less than a day left, all parties seized the final chance to hold pre-talks consultations.

Sources said the Russian delegation consulted with the Japanese and US delegations in the Russian Embassy in China earlier today.

China will confer with Japan and the ROK Tuesday afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2004)