The Russian delegation, headed by the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losiukov, held a consultation with the Japanese delegation in Beijing Tuesday morning at the Russian Embassy to China before the second round of six-party talks.

The consultation is still going on at press time, and sources with the Russian Embassy here said they don't know how long the closed-door consultation will last.

The Japanese delegation is headed by Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The delegations of Russia and the United States will hold another consultation soon after the Russia-Japan consultation, sources with the Russian Embassy disclosed.

The Russian, Japanese and the US delegations arrived here Monday to attend the six-party talks scheduled to start on Feb. 25.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2004)