The Six-Party Talks on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear issue will resume on July 26, the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday.

The DPRK agreed earlier this month to return to the talks, after being assured by the top US nuclear envoy that Washington recognized its sovereignty. The ROK's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the talks would convene next week but gave no closing date.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan Tuesday also confirmed the date of the talks.

"The fourth round of the Six-Party Talks on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula will start in Beijing on July 26," Kong said.

The decision to restart the Six-Party Talks was made through consultations with all relevant parties, Kong said. The Six-Party Talks involve China, the DPRK, Japan, the ROK, Russia and the United States.

However, Kong did not disclose how long the new round would last.

Since China started to mediate the nuclear dispute between the United States and the DPRK in 2003, China has hosted several rounds of China-DPRK-US talks and the Six-Party Talks in Beijing.

The first Six-Party Talks were launched on August 27, 2003 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in downtown Beijing.

But after the third round of the talks, the DPRK decided to suspend participation, claiming the US' policy of hostility.

The DPRK announced to return to the six-party talks on July 9, after a meeting in Beijing between the top US and DPRK envoys to the talks.

The ROK plans to "play a progressive and active role in making substantial progress at this round of Six-Party Talks for resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue," the ROK Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the DPRK said it and the United States should agree to coexist and respect each other at the renewed nuclear talks.

"The talks should not be ones for their own sake. One side should not be allowed to use the talks for achieving the sinister purpose of disarming the other party," the DPRK's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper wrote on Monday in a commentary quoted by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday that Japan is still committed to normalizing diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.

Russia's Foreign Ministry Tuesday applauded the DPRK's decision to return to the talks and said it hopes the negotiations will move forward.

"The Russian side welcomes this decision and expresses the hope that the upcoming meeting in Beijing will bring visible progress," ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

ROK President Roh Moo-hyun also said on Monday that the United States "has the final key" to a solution at the talks.

Seoul revealed earlier this month that it has offered massive energy aid to the DPRK as an incentive for it to give up its nuclear weapons. But the DPRK later said that it is not because of the massive aid that it returned to the Six-Party Talks.

The United States has said it would offer diplomatic recognition and trade to the DPRK only after international inspectors verify it has completely dismantled its nuclear programme.

Source: China Daily