China seeks earlier implementation of promises on six-party talks

BEIJING—All parties involved in the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue should implement their promises as soon as possible, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Thursday.
All parties should seek an early resolution on relevant issues, and quickly enter the next phase, as discussed in talks between China and the United States recently, Liu said. The process of implementing the second phase action plan had been deferred because of some difficulties. However, the Korean peninsular nuclear issue and the process of the six-party talks generally kept advancing towards the goal of denuclearization, Liu said. All parties were optimistic about this. All parties agreed to push the six-party talks process, and China was ready to continue playing a positive role. China and the United States exchanged views on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue during U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to China.
The United States and other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany are expected to adopt new sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program soon, the U.S. State Department said Monday. The six major powers — the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany discussed a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear activities and the next steps to be taken, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
Top officials of the countries “reaffirmed their commitment to the dual track approach for responding to the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program,” Casey said in a statement. “We continue to expect a vote soon on the draft sanctions resolution currently being discussed in New York,” Casey said. Britain and France introduced a draft resolution at the Security Council on Thursday. But non-permanent members South Africa, Indonesia, Libya and Vietnam have expressed reservations about the proposed resolution.

—Xinhua