Chinese, US to contact after US expert team back from Pyongyang

BEIJING—Chinese and U.S. officials planned to have contacts on Thursday afternoon after a working group of U.S. experts got back from Pyongyang to Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks at a regular press conference on Thursday afternoon, but gave no further details on the contact.
Liu said as a follow-up measure to the second phase of the sixth round of the six-party talks and a consensus reached by all involved parties, a working group of U.S. nuclear experts conducted a trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from Oct. 11 to 18 to make preparations for future disabling of the country’s nuclear facilities.
The working group on economic and energy cooperation would also hold a meeting soon on the second-phase actions for the implementation of the Joint Statement adopted on 19 September 2005,Liu added.
Liu said China is glad to see the progress made in the work towards resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and hopes all the parties will continue their efforts in promoting the six-party talks process.
The Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement, which was released on Oct. 3, marking a new progress in the whole six-party talks process, and China hoped the document could be implemented in a all-round, balanced and smooth way, Liu noted. The six parties are China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK) on Friday criticized U.S. President George W. Bush for listing Pyongyang among the so-called “brutal regimes,” warning such actions will affect the process of the six-party talks. “The renewed accusation made by him (Bush) against the DPRK was nothing but a foolish ploy to tarnish the DPRK’s dignity and authority rising in the international arena..,” said a commentary issued by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Bush called Pyongyang one of the “brutal regimes” in his address at the United Nations General Assembly before the sixth round of six-party talks opened on Sept. 27. This is the first response from DPRK official media since Bush made such remarks.
“Confidence building is vital and required by the countries participating in the six-party talks,” the KCNA said. “A lot of time has been wasted since the start of the talks. This was entirely attributable to the wrong view of the U.S. regarding the DPRK,” the KCNA added.
The KCNA also criticized some Republican lawmakers for recently introducing a bill to Congress urging the administration not to de-list the DPRK as a sponsor of terrorism. The commentary urged the U.S. to “be consistent in its policy toward the DPRK” and not to neglect such factors which will affect the progress of the six-party talks and the settlement of the nuclear issue.—Xinhua