Seoul, Dec 07: The United States, Japan and South Korea have hammered out a joint draft statement to be adopted at six-nation talks aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, a top South Korean diplomat said. "The three countries have forged an understanding on the wording of a draft statement to be issued" at fresh talks on the crisis, South Korea's deputy foreign minister Lee Soo-Hyuck said last evening on his return from a trip to the United States.

In Washington, Lee met with his US and Japanese counterparts to fine-tune preparations for a new round of six-nation talks on ending the year-long impasse over North Korea's nuclear weapons drive.

"Discussions focused on how to describe the resolution of the nuclear issue and security guarantee in a balanced manner," lee said, adding China would soon convey the draft statement to North Korea.
US and South Korean officials said they still hoped six-nation talks could start soon after a first round in August ended with little progress.

But Lee said the six-nation meeting, originally expected to take place in Beijing in the third week of December, could be delayed.


Bureau Report