The fourth round of the six-party talks, originally scheduled for last September, opened here Tuesday. According to previous reports and speeches made by each side at the opening session, stances of all six parties on the nuclear issue are as follows:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK):

-- The US should respect the DPRK's sovereignty and normalize political and economic relations with it, by delabelling DPRK as "a supporter of terrorism," lifting sanctions against it and maintaining peaceful coexistence with it on a legal basis.

-- The US should offer a "definite assurance" of non-aggression against the DPRK and not to disturb the DPRK's economic cooperation with other countries.

-- The US unilateral demand that the DPRK abandon nuclear programme will never be accepted. The United States should approach the fourth round of the six-party talks with a sincere and sound stance.

-- It is the DPRK's persistent attitude to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and consultation. Not a single nuclear weapon for self-defense will be needed if the US nuclear threat is removed and its hostile policy of "bringing down the DPRK's system" is withdrawn.

-- It needs political will and strategic resolution of all the parties concerned to wipe out all the threats of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and to realize a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula.The DPRK delegation promises that it has got ready for that goal.

-- Opposed to Japan to put forward other issues concerned with human rights, abduction and missile during the talks.

The United States:

-- Recognizes that the DPRK is sovereign, has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK, and is willing to have direct talks with the DPRK within the framework of the six-party talks.

-- The DPRK should make a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear programme.

-- The United States will repeat its proposal raised in the last round of talks. In the proposal, the DPRK would be given a three-month preparatory period to provide a full listing of its nuclear activities, disable some dangerous materials and allow monitoring. The proposal also set ways to solve the security concerns of the DPRK, and under the proposal, issues like lifting sanctions against the DPRK and dealing with its energy needs would be covered.

-- Nuclear weapons will not make the DPRK safer. If the DPRK makes the decision to give up all its nuclear programs, the other five parties will make relevant responses in the principle of word-to-word and action-to-action. The parties concerned are well-prepared to settle DPRK's security concern and its energy needs.

The Republic of Korea (ROK):

-- Adheres to three principles on the nuclear issue, including never accepting the DPRK to own nuclear weapons, peacefully solving the nuclear issue through dialogue, and playing a leading role in solving the nuclear issue.

-- If the DPRK agrees to give up its nuclear program, the ROK is willing to provide 2 million kilowatt-hour of electricity annually to the DPRK by building cross inter-Korean border power line.

-- The ROK hoped the DPRK would give up its nuclear program, and the other countries concerned would make definite promises to realize the normalization of bilateral relations with the DPRK and provide security guarantee to the DPRK.

Russia:

-- Keeping on pressuring on the DPRK is not right, and the emergent provision of food and energy assistance should be realized by practical approaches in the relevant mechanism.

-- Adheres to a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula.

-- The "package solution" to the nuclear issue that Russia had proposed had not lost its feasibility, and Russia is willing to revise it if necessary.The package solution refers to create a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula and provide security guarantee for every country in the region, including the DPRK.

-- Agrees in principle to provide the DPRK with energy aid, but the overall plan has not be finished.

Japan:

-- The DPRK should completely abandon all of its nuclear programs.

-- Japan seeks a package solution to the nuclear issue, missile issue and abduction issue all together. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed hope that Japan will be able to normalize relations with the DPRK within his term which will end in September 2006.

-- To resolve the Korean nuclear issue is a precondition for Japan to normalize its relationship with the DPRK. Other preconditions include settlement of missile and abduction issues.

-- The DPRK confessed in 2002 that its agents had kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and the 1980s to use them as language instructors for spies. The DPRK side said among the 13 Japanese citizens, five were alive, and eight others had died of illness or in accidents. However, Japan is skeptical of the DPRK's explanations about the eight dead, urging the DPRK to show evidence to support its claim.

China:

-- Holds that peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue concerns the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as northeast Asia.

-- Realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining long-term regional peace and stability is in the interests of all parties and that adhering to the process of peaceful dialogues is the sole correct choice.

-- Aims to have a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, resolve questions peacefully through dialogue and address reasonable concerns of parties concerned.

-- As a member of the six-party talks and the host nation, China will take a serious and responsible attitude and work closely with the other parties in the talks to push forward the talks and achieve substantial progress.

Source: Xinhua