The six-nation talks on solving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula will end today in Beijing, apparently without any agreement.

China's chief delegate, Wang Yi, yesterday called on the parties to show sincerity and work for progress on what has been achieved so far.

He said that because differences, difficulties and contradictions still existed, continuation of the talks process was necessary.

Wang, also vice foreign minister, urged all sides to "show sincerity to each other" and "take a step forward."

Delegates from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan began the second round of talks on Wednesday, and a document all the six parties agree to is expected to be issued when the talks end today.

Liu jianchao, a Chinese delegate, said: "The gap is being narrowed down and common ground is increasing."

Russia's chief negotiator Alexander Losiukov said a discussion on setting up working groups was substantive and important, and it would be a big achievement if the groups were formed.

Although there was no obvious sign that the DPRK and the United States were getting closer to a consensus, Losiukov said, their discussion was carried out in a "calm and down-to-earth" atmosphere.

He said it was hard to predict if the common document would be released, but the possibility was pretty high.

Lee soo-Hyuck, deputy minister of foreign affairs and trade who heads the South Korean team, said the talks were conducive to the final settlement of the nuclear issue and to security in Northeast Asia.

The talks will also help find ways of ensuring regional security in Northeast Asia and solving all remaining problems on the peninsula, he said.

"It might be a long-term process in addressing all related issues," he added.

The six sides also discussed whether to regularize the six-way format and were exploring the most reasonable and appropriate way.

But it was difficult to fix the date for the next round of the talks, Lee said.

Zha daojiong, an international relations scholar at the Chinese People's University, said that both the DPRK and the United States seemed to show some flexibility.

"Patience is needed for further progress," Zha said.

Americans maintained their consistent insistence on a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of the DPRK's nuclear programs. During this week's talks, South Korea, China and Russia offered to give the impoverished North Korea crucial energy aid if it agrees to disarm.

The dprk also said it would eliminate its nuclear program, but went on hours later to condemn what it called American intransigence.

Yesterday, the United States promised to see the talks through even though there were no concrete signs that Pyongyang would meet Washington's demands.