6-party talks open, host China urges flexibility
By Hu Xiao and Qin Jize (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-26 06:08
US, DPRK meet ahead of 6-party talks
The US and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) chief negotiators met face-to-face in Beijing yesterday on the eve of the fourth round of Six-Party Talks.
It was their first contact since they met in Beijing on July 9 to discuss the resumption of talks.
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Director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenichiro Sasae (left) chats with US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill (second left), while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev (second right) and Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei (right) look on while attending a welcoming banquet for the Six-Party Talks delegations, held by Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing yesterday. [newsphoto] |
No official details were available after the 75-minute discussion at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
US Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, however, told reporters before the talks that the meeting was aimed at helping the two sides "get acquainted" and "compare notes."
The two sides used to use what they called the "New York channel" to contact each other as the countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.
They had not had any substantive agreement after their face-to-face meetings in New York in May and June.
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