A Republic of Korea (ROK) official said in Beijing Friday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) delegation did not "directly threaten to carry out nuclear test" during bilateral talks with the United States delegation Thursday.

The ROK official told a press conference on condition of anonymity.

 

The DPRK and US delegations had a two-hour bilateral meeting Thursday afternoon following the second plenary session of the third round of six-party talks, involving China, DPRK, the United States, ROK, Russia and Japan, on the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula.

 

This was the first bilateral meeting between the DPRK and US delegations since the six-party talks began Wednesday.

 

During the DPRK-US meeting, the DPRK side threatened to test a bomb if its conditions on freezing its nuclear program were not accepted, according to the Associated Press, quoting a senior US official in Washington.

 

The DPRK side talked about the "possibility" of future test, but it's not a direct threat, the ROK official said.

 

Heads of the Chinese and DPRK delegations, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-gwan, held a two-hour bilateral meeting Friday morning before the conference of all the six delegation heads.

 

The six parties will discuss the final text of a document of this round of talks Friday afternoon and the talks will conclude on Saturday, the ROK official said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2004)