The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday all the six parties have taken the first step for fulfilling the common statement issued in the fourth round of the talks on the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula.
The first phase of the fifth round talks, which ended Friday afternoon in Beijing, has made some progress, although it only lasted two and a half days, Kim Gye-gwan, chief negotiator of the DPRK, told Xinhua at Pyongyang Sun-an Airport upon his arrival.
"The parties concerned should eliminate suspicion and establish trust for each other if they really want to make progress in the talks. The DPRK has got ready to make sincere efforts to fulfill the common statement," Kim Gye-gwan said.
Kim Yong-il, deputy minister of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua that only if the parties concerned make joint efforts based on respecting the spirit of the common statement and fulfil the reached consensus, the progress could be made on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Yong-il stressed that the DPRK's stand on respecting and fulfilling the joint statement remains unchanged.
The six parties agreed to hold the second-phase of the fifth round talks at the earliest possible time.
The six-party talks involved China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.
The common statement at the fourth round of the six-party talks in September reaffirmed the goal of the talks: the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.