Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pledged yesterday to take part in a
proposed foreign ministerial level meeting of the six-party talks on the Korean
Peninsular nuclear issue, but asked the talks to enter a "new phase."
"There needs to be some progress with the practical implementation of the
agreements that have been reached. And we are willing to take part in the
ministerial meeting, but it must naturally mark some kind of new phase,"
Itar-Tass news agency quoted Lavrov as saying on the flight back to Moscow after
a visit to Libya.
"There has been a general understanding that, as the agreements that have
been reached are being implemented, we may plan a ministerial meeting," he said.
He asked concerned sides not to raise artificial obstacles and be patient if
any problem emerges in the implementation of agreements.
The multi-national talks, involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, have
issued a joint document in Beijing on Oct. 3, in which the DPRK agreed to
disable all its existing nuclear facilities and provide a complete and correct
declaration of all its nuclear programs by the end of this year.
