The third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear impasse opened in Beijing Wednesday.

What, if any, progress will be made during this session remains a big question.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States are divided on key issues, such as the DPRK security concerns, whether its nuclear programs should be dismantled or frozen, and the question of compensation.

The DPRK claims it should receive aid grants in return for a freeze. The United States remains adamant that the DPRK should dismantle its nuclear programs in a "thorough, verifiable and irreversible" manner.

Still, the fact the negotiations have reached a third round signals the willingness and sincerity of the countries concerned to solve the problem through peaceful talks rather than resorting to force.

Given the deep-rooted mistrust between DPRK and the US, agreeing to sit for face-to-face talks is undoubtedly encouraging because it indicates they rule out the use of force to settle their dispute.

China has made and will continue to make active contributions to help solve the issue.

Just as Wang Yi, head of the Chinese delegation, said on Tuesday, China will participate in the talks with the aim of establishing steadfast goals, consolidating achievements, actively mediating and steadily advancing.

That means China will continue to adhere to its consistent position that the Korean Peninsula should be nuclear-free and the path to this end should be peaceful.

An issue left over from the Cold War era, the impasse intertwines converging interests of all six participants in the talks.

It has escalated because of the lack of basic trust between the DPRK and the United States. That has been fully demonstrated by the two countries' different preconditions to the settlement of the issue.

Pyongyang insists on a non-aggression pact with Washington before announcing its abandonment of the program. Washington insists the DPRK should first promise to give up its nuclear program before it can get a kind of security guarantee.

Without concessions from the two sides there will be no progress.

Attaining a positive resolution relies on wisdom and necessary concessions. Hopefully, the negotiators will not let this opportunity slip away.

(China Daily June 24, 2004)