With the Russian delegation arriving in Beijing on Monday morning, all the six parties involved have gathered in the Chinese capital for the new round of talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue slated to open on Tuesday.

China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan will start the fourth round of talks on Tuesday morning at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in central-western Beijing, the venue for the previous three rounds of talks.

Shortly after their arrival, the delegations started holding bilateral meetings to coordinate stances. The two Korean delegations held a 100-minute meeting on Sunday and reached consensus on "many issues," including forging a framework for the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

The US delegation conferred with the ROK and Japanese delegations respectively on Monday, and held rare bilateral talks with the DPRK delegation on Monday afternoon. The ROK and Japanese delegations also met on Monday afternoon.

Upon its arrival in Beijing, the Russian delegation headed directly to the DPRK embassy in Beijing, and exchanged opinions with the DPRK delegation on the upcoming talks.

"The resumption of the talks has rekindled the hope for a breakthrough for the nuclear dismantlement deadlock. All the delegations are getting well-prepared for the talks," local diplomatic observers have told Xinhua.

Compared to the previous three rounds, each lasting around three days, the new round of talks has a number of uncertainties, said Piao Jianyi, a professor with the Asian-Pacific Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The DPRK delegation, headed by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, and the Russian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev, arrived here on Friday afternoon and Monday morning respectively.

The ROK delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, arrived here on Saturday morning. "During the upcoming talks, we will make every effort to lay a foundation for solving the nuclear issue," Song Min-soon said upon his arrival.

The US delegation, headed by Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, arrived here on Sunday. Hill told reporters that the the United States is "very much committed" to the fourth round of six-party talks, and that he wouldn't expect this to be the last set of negotiation.

Sasae Kenichiro, director general of the Asia and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, who headed the Japanese delegation, arrived here on Sunday evening. He told reporters that Japan would work with the other parties to promote the talks to make progress.

The foundation for the fresh round of talks is comparatively "ripe", said Xu Wenji, a professor with the research center for northeast Asia of Jilin University in northeast China's Jilin Province.

Both the United States and DPRK released some positive information about the upcoming talks, he said. Meanwhile, no time limit was set for the multilateral talks, demonstrating all parties' aspirations and determination to achieve some substantial progress out of the talks.

As the host of the talks, the Chinese side will arrange a banquet on Monday evening for the other five parties at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

"The new round of six-party talks was realized through hard efforts from parties concerned for more than one year. Concrete progress can be anticipated in the upcoming talks," said Zhang Liankui, a professor with the Beijing-based Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"It is natural that divergence exists among all the parties. But as long as all the parties attach utmost importance to peace and stability of East Asia and display a spirit of being responsible for history, the talks can finally achieve success," Zhang said.

Source: Xinhua