The Beijing six-party talks, which started in Beijing Wednesday morning, are a vital move toward the peaceful solution of the Korean nuclear issue, and China has played an "active" and "constructive" role in making the talks possible, according to experts on international relations.

In order to resolve the Korean nuclear issue, which surfaced again last October, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States held talks in Beijing in April this year. Later, thanks to diplomatic efforts made by various sides, especially by the Chinese side, the six-party talks startedas scheduled in Beijing.

Qi Baoliang, an expert on the Korean Peninsula issue at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the previous trilateral talks were a good start for resolving the Korean nuclear issue through peaceful dialogue, and the current six-party talks, in essence, are a continuation and evolution of the trilateral talks.

The DPRK and the United State stand far apart on the Korean nuclear issue. The DPRK has said it will give up its nuclear program only after a non-aggression treaty with the United States is signed. However, the United States has claimed that it will not give any guarantee as long as the DPRK continues its nuclear program and rejects inspection.

"It has been by no means an easy job to get the parties concerned to sit together to negotiate," said Shen Dingli, deputy head of the American Studies Center of Shanghai-based Fudan University.

Wu Xinbo, a professor at the center, said the development from trilateral talks to six-party talks came from China's arduous diplomatic efforts, more flexible and pragmatic stances on the part of the DPRK and the United States, and the hopes of other parties concerned.

China has long insisted on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, adhered to the principle of peaceful solution of the Korean nuclear issue through dialogue and urged the international community to pay adequate attention to the DPRK's security concerns.

Since the Korean nuclear issue surfaced again, China has sought various means to mediate.

"It is rare in China's diplomatic history to have two vice-foreign ministers shuttle across the Pacific Ocean in order to resolve the Korean nuclear issue," Qi Baoliang said, adding that China had thus won widespread applause from the international community.

Because of the huge divergence between the stands of the DPRK and the United States, experts hold cautious optimism towards the six-party talks. They believe that the six-party talks mark great progress in resolving the Korean nuclear issue, nudging the issue toward peaceful dialogue.

The talks will see ups and downs, and even intense confrontation might arise in the course of the talks, observed Chen Yongxing, a senior researcher at the China Society for International Strategic Studies.

Qi Baoliang said the six-party talks might evolve into a mechanism for resolving the Korean nuclear issue and realizing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as a whole.

"The talks have turned the standoff and confrontation between the DPRK and the United States into dialogue, making the whole world see hope for a peaceful solution to the Korean nuclear issue," Qi added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2003)