The ongoing fourth round of six-party talks are likely to extend into the weekend, according to ROK chief negotiator.

The fourth round of six-party talks on Korean Peninsular nuclear issue opened in Beijing Tuesday and is going on with no deadline set yet.

Song Min-soo, head of the Republic of Korea (ROK) delegation, was quoted by the ROK's Yonhap news agency as saying that the current round of talks are likely to extend into the weekend as the participants were showing a strong desire to make headway.

"More negotiations will be needed before we can say something about the prospects of the meeting," Yonhap new agency quoted Song as saying on Thursday.

"Negotiations are currently being done mostly through bilateral contacts," Song said.

The United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the two major parties to the talks, held consultations on Thursday morning for about three hours, longer than the previous two consultations since talks opened on Tuesday.

The two sides have carried out their fourth consultations on Friday morning, but no immediate information is available.

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 Gang, spokesman for the Chinese delegation.

"The meeting 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.

"We have no intention of negotiating any bilateral agreement with North Korea. That approach was tried and it failed," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said at a briefing on Thursday.

"In terms of the bilateral discussions that are going on, those are discussions that relate to the modalities of the talks, and it's a way for us also to understand North Korea's position and for us to explain our views as well," he said.

The fourth-round six-party talks are characterized by one-on-one consultations, which are not isolated but held within the framework of the six-party talks, according to Qin.

Source: Xinhua