China has made a lot of efforts in pushing forward the fourth round of six-party talks and played a "very good" role in the process, said Song Min-soon, chief negotiator of South Korea, on Sunday.

Before attending a meeting of chief negotiators Sunday morning, Song said this round of talks has set a foundation for reducing differences in major issues.

All parties are working on a political declaration on the "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, Song said.

The chief negotiators will decide on a recess of the talks and the date of resumption at their meeting, he said.

The meeting began a meeting at 8:30 Sunday morning, and is still going on.

Song spoke highly of China's efforts in this round of talks, and said China has played a "very good" role no matter in drafting a balanced joint document reflecting the views of all sides or in pushing the meeting forward smoothly.

Song said he hoped the Chinese side will continue playing this role in later talks.

The fourth round of six-party talks opened in the Chinese capital on July 26.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2005)