BEIJING, November 9 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Yefimov) - The current phase of talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program is not aimed at producing any finite agreements, but is rather a stepping stone for specific consultations further down the line, the chief South Korean negotiator at the talks said Wednesday.
The six-party negotiations, involving Russia, North and South Korea, the United States, China, and Japan, began in August 2003, with the aim being to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development in return for economic and diplomatic rewards.
Song Min-soon told a press conference in the Chinese capital, now hosting the fifth round of talks, that issues up for discussion included having North Korea's nuclear facilities dismantled and providing it with economic and energy assistance.
Song said some of the involved countries, including South Korea, had proposed a number of confidence-building measures to facilitate the negotiating process.
The fourth round of talks, held in September this year, ended with Pyongyang agreeing to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and abide by International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards in exchange for economic aid.
One day after the deal was struck, however, the North Korean leadership said they would begin disarmament only if the United States provided a light-water reactor for civilian use.
