The next round of six-nation talks on the nuclear issue of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are most likely to take place in Beijing, South Korean Yonhap News Agency quoted a government official as reporting on Sunday.  

"There is high possibility as of now that a new round of six-party talks will be held in Beijing on Dec. 17-19, although the interested countries are on the final stages of fixing schedules for the talks," said the South Korean government official in anonymity.

"I understand that Pyongyang is favorable toward reopening the six-party talks," he added.

The official said the meeting schedule will likely be decided after a meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly and Russian Vice Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov Monday in Washington.

Kelly just concluded his Asian trip which brought him to Japan, China and South Korea to hold consultations on the nuclear issue.

The first six-party talks were held in August in Beijing and were attended by China, the United States, the DPRK, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

In October, US President George W. Bush said a multilateral form security guarantee will be provided to Pyongyang if the latter agrees to dismantle its nuclear program. Then Pyongyang responded it will consider Bush's proposal on condition that Washington drops hostile policy against the DPRK.

(Xinhua News Agency November 23, 2003)