Chief negotiators of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue gathered at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Monday, initiating a new round of negotiation on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, also head of the Chinese delegation, presided over the talks, which opened at 11:00 a.m. at the state guesthouse in western Beijing.

Heads of the six delegations, namely, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan and Russia, attended the opening ceremony.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Wu appreciated the "constructive" efforts the six parties and their respective government have made for the resumption of the talks.

"The current round of talks will emphasize and fix on specific measures to fully implement the joint statement adopted by the six parties during the fourth round of talks in September, 2005," the Chinese chief negotiator said.

He stressed the issues to be discussed and settled during the fresh round of talks are "complicated" and "sophisticated", adding parties concerned are shouldering a "glorious" and "arduous" mission.

"China sincerely hopes all the six parties exert political wisdom, come up with political determination and courage, and build a mutual-beneficial future while increasing mutual trust," he said.

He also urged parties concerned to make new contribution to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, normalization of diplomatic ties between relevant countries and building new structure for a harmonious northeast Asia.

After the opening ceremony, the six parties held a plenary session, stressing to resolve the nuclear standoff in line with the principle of "action-to-action."

The chief negotiators of the six parties made key-note speeches at the plenary session, and elaborated their respective stance on implementing the joint statement adopted by all parties during the fourth round of talks.

They reiterated their pledge to fulfill the commitments made in the Sept. 19 statement, realize denuclearization through dialogues and peaceful means, and achieve normalization of diplomatic ties between relevant countries as well as long-lasting peace in northeast Asia.

The six chief negotiators also vowed to strive for "positive progress" out of the new round of talks with "flexible" and "pragmatic" attitude.

According to Wu Dawei, the topic for the talks on Monday focused on how to concretely implement the joint statement in line with the "action-to-action" principle.

Chun Yung Woo, head of the ROK delegation and ROK Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told reporters there are "three common points" among parties concerned during this round of talks, namely to settle the nuclear issue through peaceful negotiation, to find out a scheme to implement the Sept. 19 statement, and to achieve "substantial" progress in the talks.

The six delegations held a series of bilateral consultations on Monday afternoon.

Chief negotiators of the six parties are, Wu Dawei, head of the Chinese delegation; Kim Kye-gwan, head of the DPRK delegation and DPRK's vice foreign minister; Christopher Hill, head of the U.S. delegation and assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs; Chun Yung Woo, head of the ROK delegation; Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese delegation and director-general for Asian and Oceanian Affairs of Japanese Foreign Ministry; and Sergei Razov, head of the Russian delegation and Russian ambassador to China.

Launched in 2003, the six-party talks have been held for five rounds. However, the talks have remained stalled since the DPRK walked out of the negotiations more than a year ago in response to U.S. sanctions.

In late November, chief negotiators of the DPRK, the United States, the ROK and Japan came to Beijing to join their Chinese counterpart in laying the groundwork for the resumption of the talks.

Source: Xinhua