Delegates leave Beijing after six-party talks recess

Beijing(China)—Chief negotiators to the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue left here on Saturday after the five-day talks ended up with little tangible progress.
"We want to make real progress, so we were a little disappointed," top U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill said prior to his departure at the airport. He said he will go back to Washington to prepare for the next round. As for when the session will resume, he said he hopes to come back at an early date.
The negotiator said he hopes the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) delegation can make some decisions after going back to their capital. The DPRK's chief negotiator and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan did not make comments at the Beijing international airport before leaving for Pyongyang.
Top Japanese negotiator Kenichiro Sasae and top negotiator of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Chun Yung Woo also left Beijing on Saturday morning. Chun reiterated at the airport that it is still necessary for the six-party talks to go onward.
The six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Japan and Russia, recessed on Friday afternoon after issuing a chairman's statement. "The six parties agreed to recess to report to capitals and to reconvene at the earliest opportunity," the statement said.
The six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue recessed on Friday afternoon after issuing a chairman's statement. The recess came after five days of negotiations in Beijing by six delegations, namely, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia.
The chairman's statement said the six parties agreed to implement the joint statement of September 19, 2005 as soon as possible "in a phased manner". Under the joint statement, the DPRK agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees.
The chairman's statement was announced by China's top negotiator Wu Dawei, with five other top envoys standing beside him. The parties reviewed changes and developments in the situation of the six-party talks and reaffirmed their common goal and will to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue, the chairman's statement said.
"The six parties agreed to recess to report to capitals and to reconvene at the earliest opportunity," it said. Calling the discussions over the past five days "useful," the chairman's statement said the parties put forward some "initial ideas". The parties, through intensive bilateral consultations, had candid and in-depth exchange of views to address their concerns, it said.
In the talks, the DPRK and the United States remained greatly divided, particularly on the financial sanction issue, said Sergei Razov, head of the Russian delegation. "Their difference is the major obstacle to implementing the joint statement of September." Formally known as the second phase of the fifth round since 2003, the talks resumed Monday after a 13-month suspension. Later Friday, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with six chief negotiators at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. "This phase of talks are rather difficult," Tang told chief negotiators. "But proposals of the parties become clearer and their stances closer through the talks," Tang said.

—Daily Mail, People’s Daily news exchange item