The second plenary session of the third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue was held on Thursday in Beijing, along with bilateral meetings, sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

During the plenary session, China, Japan and Russia raised their own proposals and ideas and discussed the detailed plans with other participants including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Wang Yi, head of the Chinese delegation and vice foreign minister, elaborated China's proposition on the Korean nuclear issue and its idea on how to kick off the first stage of action.

The third round of six-party talks has had a sound and stable start, Wang said, as all sides have reaffirmed the existing important consensus, "which has become the basis for us to move forward."

"All sides raised detailed plans or proposals in the talks, which indicated the political willingness of pushing the talks toward progress," Wang said.

"All sides treated other counterparts' plans seriously and in a spirit of looking forward, which represented mutual respect and equal consultation," he said.

To push forward the peace talks is the common aspiration of the international community and is in the interest of all sides concerned, said the official, who hoped all sides would be more flexible, expand consensus and narrow differences to move the talks toward solving substantial problems.

Also on Thursday, the participants held bilateral meetings, sources said. Reports that the US side and the DPRK delegation held a bilateral meeting on Thursday could not be officially confirmed.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2004)