Beijing, May 10: China today said that the first working group-level meeting of the six party talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue would be held here on May 12. The meeting will be attended by envoys from the six parties--- China, North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan. The talks will be closed-door, and the agenda is not immediately known.


But according to diplomatic sources, the working group session is likely to discuss North Korea's "freeze-for-compensation" proposal and the US demand for a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of Pyongyang's nuclear programme, called the "CVID formula."

Diplomats of concerned parties in Beijing said that the Japanese and South Korean delegations have already arrived, and the delegations from the US and North Korea will arrive here today and tomorrow respectively. The time of Russian delegation's arrival is not confirmed yet.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said recently that all related sides regard the first meeting of the working group as an important step for resolving the Korean nuclear issue, and all sides will have in-depth exchange of views on various topics.

Ning Fukui, Chinese ambassador on Korean peninsula affairs will head the Chinese side.


China, as the host country, hopes all sides will work cooperatively to make good preparation for the third-round of the six-party talks, Kong said.
During the second round of the six-party talks here in February, all sides agreed to form a working group to prepare for the third-round of talks.

Bureau Report