Chief negotiator of the South Korea Song Min-soon said Sunday it
was hard to tell when the ongoing nuclear talks would conclude, but
all sides agreed to establish a framework for the denuclearization
of the Korean Peninsula.
Song, also South Korea deputy foreign minister, said the deputy
heads of the six delegations reached the consensus at their meeting
on the joint document of the talks held in Beijing Sunday
morning.
The deputy heads heard the opinions of all sides but did not
discuss the details of the joint document, Song told a news
briefing Sunday afternoon.
The deputy heads' session opened at 10:10 Sunday morning and lasted
approximately 5 hours. All sides discussed the denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula and measures they, excluding the North Korea,
should take to achieve the goal. At the meeting, deputy heads heard
the opinions of all sides on the drafted joint document, but did
not consult wording of it, according to Song.
Song said, "The drafted joint document the deputy heads' discussed
today was not long, however, the six sides wanted it to include all
core contents of the talks that have been so far consulted."
Such issues as the human rights in the North Korea was not talked
about at the Sunday's deputy head's meeting, Song added.
After the meeting, another chief delegates' or deputy heads'
session will be held if it is necessary, according to Song. He said
although it was hard to say when the current round of the
six-party talks would come to an end, all sides had agreed to reach
an agreement that would embody the core contents of the talks
through cooperation.
"The important scheme the South Korea advanced will become a
significant pillar for the settlement of the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue," Song said.
Song added that as the best frame of reference, the
denuclearization declaration of the Korean Peninsula that came into
being in 1992 would be used in a flexible manner for the settlement
of the nuclear issue.
(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2005)