US, DPRK agree on further one-on-one consultations

The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday agreed to continue one-on-one consultations in Beijing during the six-party talks on Korean nuclear issue.

"The delegations of the United States and the DPRK held a long-time consultations on Thursday morning and agreed to continue consultations," said Qin Gang, spokesman for the Chinese delegation.

The two delegations held the third one-on-one meeting for about three hours on Thursday morning, longer than the previous two meetings.

The bilateral consultations can move on and parties concerned can carry out consultations in a "tranquil, calm" manner, which makes the talks "deeper and more pragmatic", said Qin.

"The meeting itself is a progress and also the most important outcome of the talks," said Qin.

The outcome of the DPRK-US bilateral consultations is widely believed to have a major impact on the development of the current round of six-party talks, which also involves China, the ROK, Russia and Japan.

Source: Xinhua