As the six parties have put all their cards on the table, core differences turns out to be prominent among the parties, dimming the fourth round of talks on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

"At present, the demand of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for a light-water reactor and the scope of dismantlement of nuclear programs remain the crucial differences," said the Republic of Korea (ROK) delegation chief Song Min-soon on Wednesday.

The six parties, China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan, reopened the second phase of the fourth round in China's national capital Tuesday after a five-week recess.

"Since the resumption of the talks, all parties have held a series of one-on-one meetings to be acquainted with each other's position," Song told a news briefing. "In the following step, the parties will continue to hold bilateral consultations according to their needs."

The delegations of the DPRK and the United States held their first ever one-on-one consultations Wednesday afternoon. Besides, the one-on-one contacts between the parties filled in the agenda on the second day of the talks, coordinating their differences.

The chief US delegate Christopher Hill described its bilateral meeting with the DPRK as "lengthy" and fruitless because the DPRK delegation insists that "they want to include in the agreement a light-water reactor" in exchange for scraping all its nuclear programs.

"Neither the United States nor any other participants in the six-party process is prepared to fund a light-water reactor," Hill told reporter on Wednesday evening.

Instead Hill said Pyongyang could get conventional energy, security guarantee and economic assistance under the fourth draft circulated by China.

Analyst says it is unlikely for the Pyongyang to soften its stance now. "There is little possibility for the DPRK to make concessions on its right to civilian nuclear programs from both political and economic perspectives," said Piao Jianyi, a professor with the Asia-Pacific Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The stumbling block remains whether Pyongyang was allowed for the right to have a civilian nuclear program. The DPRK insisted on the right while the United States wanted full dismantlement of its nuclear program.

Hill think the DPRK's demand for light-water reactor has gone beyond the fourth draft of statement. Instead, Hill urged the DPRK to focus on the draft.

"We consider the fourth draft to be an very excellent basis for reaching the goals of principles that will guide us to the eventual agreement," said Hill.

"I think the most important is to stick to the fourth draft, try to make minimum changes and not to engage major surgery to the draft," Hill said.

The fourth draft of a common document proposed by China during the first phase meeting starting late July remained the focus of the talks. However, the emerging core differences have overshadowed the outcome of an agreement on a set of principles.

Song said the talks have not yet entered the stage of formulating an agreement, adding that China is collecting and sorting out opinions from all the parties in verbal or written forms.

The first three rounds of six-party talks ended inconclusively. The fourth round began in late July and then went into five-week recess.

Source: Xinhua