China has held 12 one-on-one consultations with the other five parties during the ongoing fourth round of six-party talks, which entered its third day Thursday in Beijing, said Qin Gang, spokesperson for the Chinese delegation. 

The Chinese side has held three consultations each with delegations of the US, North Korea and Japan respectively, two with the Russian delegation and one with the South Korean delegation, said Qin.

 

He said the fourth round of talks is characterized by one-on-one consultations, which are not isolated but held within the framework of six-party talks.

 

China, as an active participant, will do anything conducive to pushing for results of the talks, said Qin.

 

He said "the US and North Korean delegations held a long-time consultations this morning and agreed to continue consultations."

 

The two delegations held their third one-on-one meeting for about three hours.

 

The bilateral consultations can move on and parties concerned can carry out consultations in a "tranquil, calm" manner, which makes the talks "deeper and more pragmatic," said Qin.

 

"The (US-North Korea) meeting is a progress and also the most important outcome of the talks," he said.

 

The outcome of the US-North Korea bilateral consultations is widely believed to have a major impact on the development of the current round of six-party talks.

 

An important basis for the talks making progress is to increase political trust between the US and North Korea and consider reasonable concerns and requirements of all parties involved, said Qin.

 

The US and South Korean delegations also held meetings this afternoon, and the Japanese and North Korean delegations are to meet at an appropriate time, Qin said.   

 

He said the duration of six-party talks is yet to set, and it is still early to talk about it now.

 

Meanwhile, he said China did not advance a draft joint document on the Korean nuclear issue. 

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2005)