With the arrival of Japanese delegation, all delegations to the fourth round of six-party talks converged on Beijing Tuesday for a second phase to negotiate for a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Kim Gye-gwan, head of the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the six-party talks, said Tuesday his country will repeat its standpoints on peaceful nuclear activity, but will "take flexibility when necessary".

"The DPRK has right on peaceful nuclear activity. This right is neither awarded nor needs to be approved by others," Kim told Xinhua at Pyongyang Sun-an Airport before leaving for Beijing.

However, US chief negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters upon his arrival in Beijing that the DPRK's position on the nuclear issue is seen "to be evolving a little."

"I must tell you their (DPRK) position does seem to be evolving a little, and we will have a much better idea about it tonight or tomorrow," Hill said.

According to Hill, the US and the DPRK has had two discussions within the New York channel, but little progress has been made so far.

Song Min-soon, head of the Republic of Korea (ROK) delegation, who arrived in Beijing by the same plane with Hill, called on at the airport that all the parties involved in the Korean nuclear issue talks to "soften stance" for progress.

"If the parties concerned do not soften their stance, it will be hard to achieve progress," said Song, adding he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic for the prospect of the talks.

Song also disclosed that he and Hill reached consensus on a number of issues relating to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue during their meeting Monday in Seoul. But he did not give any details.

The six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan, will be open-ended since all the parties involved need to make full consultations on issues concerning how to realize denuclearization of the Korean

Peninsula, a source with Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In the first phase of the talks, the DPRK insisted that it be allowed to carry out peaceful nuclear activities. The United States, however, urged Pyongyang to abandon all its nuclear programs, including civilian nuclear activities.

How to bridge the disputes on the civilian nuclear activities and the scope of denuclearization, according to analysts, are the key of whether a common document will be reached in this round of talks.

The current round of six-party talks launched on July 26 after a 13-month standoff. But the record 13-day talks came to a stalemate as parties concerned failed to reach a common document.

Source: Xinhua