The one-on-one negotiations between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday dominated the news about the third-day of talks concerning the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The "lengthy" meeting in the morning, the third during the latest round of talks, lasted about three hours, and were meant "to touch upon the core issues" of the denuclearization between the two main players of the six-party talks, Chinese analysts said.
"If we can say that in the former two meetings the two sides had stated their positions and differences, then in this meeting, they should have begun consultation on how to resolve the differences," said Jin Canrong, a professor on international politics with the Renmin (People's) University of China.
"That means the talks have come to a significant phase," he said.
Unlike previous rounds of talks, that also involve China, the
Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, the fourth round is characterized by dense one-on-one consultations.
On July 25, a day before the latest round was opened, the two sides met for one hour and 15 minutes. On the next day, they met for the second time, which was described as "long," "good," and "businesslike" by US officials.
The other sides of the six-party talks also attached great importance on the "one-on-one" meetings between the DPRK and the United States.
Japan's chief negotiator Kenichiro Sasae said their talks would determine the course of the ensuing negotiations.
Russian delegation head Alexander Alexeyev said the meeting
between the DPRK and the United States may influence the result of the six-party talks to a large extent.
Chinese delegation spokesman Qin Gang said the DPRK-US consultations were held in a "tranquil, calm" manner and will make the talks "deeper and more pragmatic."
A US official has confirmed that the two sides will hold one more consultation on Friday.
Analysts said the DPRK and the United States still have a lot of issues in which they disagree. On the definition of "denuclearization," the DPRK side insists that the US side should eliminate its nuclear threat against the DPRK, including its "nuclear umbrella" for the Republic of Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The DPRK is not "fully satisfied" with the proposal that the United States made in June 2004 and worries about who should take the first step. It is also afraid that it itself has taken on too many obligations while the other parties will not carry corresponding measures.
Christopher Hill, head of the US delegation, said Thursday afternoon, "We had a lengthy discussion and I must say there are a number of differences."
Despite huge difficulties ahead, Chinese vice foreign minister Dai Bingguo said Thursday that the ongoing fourth round is "moving towards the right direction."
"They have made frank, in-depth and pragmatic discussions on how to realize a nuclear-weapon-free peninsula," Dai said.
The Chinese top diplomat has been to the DPRK and the United States many times. He wished that the participating parties could "catch fish" in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the meeting venue for the six-party talks.
"Diaoyutai" in Chinese literally means a fishing terrace where emperors and officials used to go fishing.
Negotiators all agreed at a luncheon Thursday to strive for substantive results, including a joint document, an official with the ROK delegation said Thursday.
The ROK and US delegations held a one-hour one-on-one meeting Thursday afternoon, and they reached a new consensus at the meeting. the official said without elaborating.
As the talks are about to enter their fourth day, the Russian delegation head Alexander Alexeyev told a press briefing that he will leave Beijing Saturday for Moscow.
Alexeyev, also Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, said his deputy will remain in Beijing and he could come back "as soon as it's necessary".