N. Korea nuclear talks to continue through Dec. 22
20/12/2006 15:48 BEIJING, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - Participants in the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program will continue their negotiations in China's capital, Beijing, into Friday, a spokesman for the Chinese delegation said Wednesday.
The talks, involving diplomats from the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia, resumed in Beijing Monday after a 13-month break, and two months after Pyongyang reported its first successful nuclear weapons test.
The Chinese diplomat said that at today's session delegation heads decided to continue the talks Thursday and Friday, adding that the sides have already achieved some progress.
Earlier, sources close to the negotiating process said that the North Korean nuclear disarmament talks, described by many insiders as "business-like," were due to end Thursday, but might continue beyond that date if necessary.
On day three, the delegations continued bilateral meetings and held a plenary session following a meeting with China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
In September 2005, the North signed a "joint statement" committing itself to abandoning its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
But it boycotted the six-party talks two months later after Washington froze Pyongyang's $24 million account at a Macau bank, accusing the regime of money laundering and counterfeiting U.S. bank notes.
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