All parties agree progress made in six-party talks, FM spokeswoman

All concerned parties regard the third round of six-party talks as constructive, with practical progress achieved, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue Tuesday at a regular press conference.

The third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue was held in Beijing from June 23 to 26, involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry released a statement Monday in Pyongyang, noting that the just-closed third round of the six-party talks made "positive progress". The US State Department

deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said at a news briefing Friday in Washington that the overall atmosphere of the six-party talks in Beijing was constructive and the US side expected the talks to continue.

Wang Yi, Chinese delegation head to the talks and Chinese vice foreign minister, told a press conference Saturday that the third round of talks has achieved progress in five aspects.

All relevant parties have offered proposals and plans for the solution to the nuclear issue, reached consensus on the first phase of the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, agreed to take a step-by-step process of "words for words" and "action for action" in search for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, approved the Concept Paper on the Working Group, and agreed in principle to hold the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks in Beijing by the end of September 2004, and released the second Chairman's Statement of the talks.

Source: Xinhua