A senior Russian official said Tuesday that it is necessary to set up a multilateral working group to tackle the difficulties hampering preparations for the second round of talks on the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK). 

"It would possibly make sense to change the tactic of consultations and set up a working group for preparing the second round of negotiations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

He noted that the original idea of establishing a mechanism after the second round of talks to work between sessions had been put aside since the final document for further negotiations was about to be approved by parties involved.

But considering that the coordination of the document is taking more time than expected, "we will propose that a working group be set up to jointly prepare for the talks."

The first round of negotiations on the DPRK's nuclear issue was held in Beijing in late August with the participation of representatives from the DPRK, South Korea, Russia, China, the United States and Japan. Diplomatic efforts are underway to decide the date for the next round of such talks.

Losyukov hinted Monday that the second round of the six-party consultations was "still possible" to be held in January but "the chances were slim."

"Mistrust and excessive demands on each other" by Washington and Pyongyang hindered participants from reaching an agreement upon the final document, according to him.

There is no need to hurry, Losyukov said. He proposed better preparations for the next meeting so as to lay a foundation for further progress.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2004)