The six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula restarted this afternoon amid high hopes that concrete progress will be made.

 

Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's chief negotiator to the talks, met with his counterparts from the US, South Korea, Japan and Russia following their arrival in Beijing yesterday, according to diplomatic sources.

 

North Korean chief delegate Kim Kye-gwan arrived today.

 

The talks are likely to focus on persuading North Korea to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear plant, a source of plutonium for its nuclear weapons program.

 

"This is a very important session," US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters at Beijing International Airport after flying in.

 

"But I want to emphasize the real success is when we complete the September 2005 joint statement. Not just when we start the 2005 agreement, but when we finish it," said Hill, who is the top US nuclear negotiator. "We've worked very hard for this, done consultations all over the place, so let's see if we can make some progress."

 

If the joint statement is successfully implemented, Pyongyang will abandon its nuclear program and receive economic aid and security guarantees.

 

Prior to this new round of talks, Hill visited South Korea and Japan in order to consolidate their respective positions.

 

Chun Yung-woo, South Korean chief negotiator, yesterday called upon Pyongyang to take active steps in the right direction.

 

The upcoming session was hailed as "another moment of truth" by Chun upon his arrival, which "should create some sort of turning point" showing Pyongyang's desire to denuclearize.

 

This latest session will form the third phase of the fifth-round six-party talks since their launch in 2003. The previous phase, held in December last year, ended without a breakthrough following five days of negotiations.

 

Pyongyang has cited financial restrictions imposed by Washington for not implementing the 2005 joint statement, but the latter insists these sanctions concern North Korea's alleged illicit financial activities and are an entirely separate matter from the nuclear disarmament talks.

 

Jin Xide, a researcher of international relations studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he is optimistic about the new round of talks. He said that various signs from the relevant parties demonstrate that a "positive outcome" will be achieved.

 

(China Daily February 8, 2007)