On the second day of Beijing six-party talks, separate meetings were held among the six parties, further spelling out their respective stances on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

The six parties exchanged views in a frank atmosphere yesterday, and further clarified their stances and proposals expounded the previous day, according to a written statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The parties reiterated non-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the "common goal" of all sides, and the nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through diplomatic means, according to the statement, stressing that relevant concerns related to the nuclear issue should also be handled seriously.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is interested in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and does not intend to own nuclear weapons, sources quoted the head of the Russian delegation, Alexander Losiukov, as saying yesterday.

According to the sources, the Russian delegation met the US delegation and the DPRK delegation separately.

The sources said the six parties were working on the final document of the talks

The next round of six-party talks will likely be held in two months in Beijing, Alexander Losiukov was cited as saying.

The sources said all sides attending the six-party talks agreed that the next round should not be delayed.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday said in a message to the six parties that he welcomed the talks as "an encouraging development" he hoped would strengthen peace and stability.

After Wednesday's informal meeting with DPRK delegation, there would be no formal bilateral meetings between the two sides at the Beijing talks, said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan in Washington yesterday.

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