China put forward a revised draft of joint document to the six-party talks Sunday night after intense debate on the text over the weekend. 

Negotiators from the six countries worked to hammer out agreement on a joint document of basic principles. However, no big development has been made as talks entered the seventh day, and no ending date has yet been set.

The fourth round of six-party talks, opened last Tuesday in Beijing, is the longest since the process was launched in 2003 and have been characterized by frequent one-on-one meetings between Washington and Pyongyang, the most critical participants.

Though no substantive progress has yet been seen, observers noted that the fact they are still consulting with each other is in itself a massive step forward.

It is reported that China's initial draft called on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programs in exchange for the other five participants' offering of security guarantees, economic aid and the normalization of relations.

It did not address who should act first or if the parties should move simultaneously, escaping the issue of timing, which has sparked fierce debate.

China reworked the draft and proposed it to the talks again yesterday after disagreements emerged at the weekend.

US chief negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters that it was a tough process that would likely go on for some days.

No details of the revised draft agreement have been released. Reuters quoted Hill as saying the new draft includes the mention of Seoul's offer to supply Pyongyang with 2,000 megawatts of electricity if it abandoned its nuclear weapon programs.

But Reuters also quoted an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that Pyongyang is worried that the deal could still pose a security threat to the country. The worries centered on what would happen if Seoul cut off the electricity supply.

In a press conference on Sunday, South Korean chief delegate Song Min-soon said Seoul's electricity aid offer would be an important factor in solving the nuclear standoff.

Also on Sunday, Pyongyang's foreign minister announced that his country would be willing to rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the standoff was resolved.

(China Daily August 2, 2005)