Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) chats with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-gwan before holding bilateral talks in Beijing yesterday. -Xinhua

Representatives of the six countries that will try to negotiate an end to the North Korean nuclear standoff are all gathered in Beijing and ready to talk.

The talks, which start this morning, will include representatives from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea, Russia, the United States and Japan.

The six countries have spent the last two days preparing for the meeting.

The Chinese delegation, led by Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held consultations with Russia on Monday. Yesterday, the delegation met with the other four delegations.

Wang said the talks will start with substantial content, which is an important symbol.

He said China is willing, together with all the parties concerned, to not only start the talks but also to help see the talks continue and lead to concrete results.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said his country's attendance at the talks is for the purpose of solving problems. North Korea is ready to show flexibility during the talks and to strive to help the current round of talks to achieve substantial results, he said.

James Kelly, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs of the United States, said the US side will continue to work for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. He said the United States is ready to seek common points among the parties and remain patient during the talks.

Lee Soo-Hyuck, South Korea's deputy minister of foreign affairs and trade, and Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said they will adopt an active attitude to strengthen communication and coordination with all the other parties to secure smooth progress during the talks.

Russian Vice-Foreign Minister Alexander Losiukov, who is leading the Russian delegation in Beijing, expressed "cautious optimism" toward the upcoming talks when he arrived in Beijing on Monday, but he also admitted there were "a number of uncertainties" around the talks.

Losiukov said Russia supports North Korea's proposal to freeze its nuclear program.