New contents added to six-party working group meeting: FM

The parties have added new contentsto their speeches in the six-party working-level talks on the Korean nuclear issue, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday.

"Since the talks is still under way, I will not disclose more information according to consensus reached by all the parties prior to the talks", Liu told a regular press conference in response to a question on the working-level six-party talks.

The envoys from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan gathered Wednesday morning in the Diaoyutai StateGuesthouse in China's capital, the venue for the previous two rounds of six-party talks, to convene the inaugural working group meeting.

The delegates from the six parties made speeches earnestly andcandidly in the meeting, elaborating their stands respectively, said Liu. The speeches will be helpful in fully understanding and recognizing each other's stances. However there are still some differences, even big differences, Liu added.

China hopes all parties keep "flexibility" and "patience seek commonness while reserving differences in line with the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, Liu said.

Liu said the parties concerned are expected to look at the positive points in other party's address and find a way to the resolution of the problems. The general goal for the Korean nuclear issue is a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula, Liu said.

The parties agreed to set up a working group and convene the third round of six-party talks before the end of June during the second round of talks held in February 2004 in the Chinese capital.