The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday that participants at the second round of six-party talks on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula should at least work at reaching consensus on the first-phase actions of a "simultaneously implemented package," the essence of which is a "verbal" commitment and "(nuclear) freeze for compensation."  

In a written interview with Xinhua, a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that only when the issue of compensation is completely resolved can Pyongyang's freeze plan be realized.

If any one proposes at the upcoming six-party talks that compensation be proceeded by a freeze, the DPRK will resolutely oppose it, the spokesperson said.

"That would mean the collapse of the talks" that benefits nobody, the official said.

To ensure that the talks produce expected results, all sides should refrain from doing anything that impedes the progress of the talks, he said, adding that any attempt to unilaterally exert pressure or bring in irrelevant issues would undermine the talks, the spokesperson said.

On Pyongyang's position on the nuclear issue, the spokesperson said the DPRK government has long maintained that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsular is the main way of safeguarding peace and security on the peninsula and it proposed a plan as early as in the mid-1980s to create a peaceful Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

To make the Korean Peninsular a place free of nuclear weapons has been the DPRK's consistent stance, and Pyongyang is trying its utmost to seek "a resolution of the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the United States through dialogues and consultations," the official said.

On China's role in facilitating the six-party talks, the spokesperson said his country appreciates China's efforts in helping seek a solution to the nuclear issue of the Korean peninsula.

"China, as a friendly neighboring country to the DPRK, has made great efforts to closely cooperate with the DPRK in settling the nuclear issue.

The second round of the six-party talks involving the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia and China is scheduled to start Wednesday in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2004)