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China set forth a new draft common document Friday afternoon, shedding a gleam of hope that the nuclear talks could avert a breakdown amid great differences.
"Chief negotiators to the talks held discussions on the joint agreement during their meeting," said Chinese delegation spokesman Liu Jianchao, giving no details of the new document.
If passed, the document will be the first of its kind since six-party talks, involving China, North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan, were launched in 2003.
A ROK official said the draft will be awaiting replies from negotiators Saturday afternoon. "The draft common document presented by China host is acceptable to all parties," said Russian negotiator Alexander Alexeyev.
Alexeyev said the document involves North Korea's right to civilian nuclear programs and a light-water reactor.
However, a recess will be announced if all the parties can not reach an agreement on the draft document by Saturday afternoon, said Alexeyev.
The talks on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue hit snag Wednesday as the North Korean delegation insisted on its right to civilian nuclear programs, especially a light-water reactor, while the US side rejected North Korea's demand, saying it is not on the table.
North Korea and the United States, the two main parties at the talks, showed little sign of concessions Friday, a day Japanese delegation chief Kenichiro Sasae called "the trial day" for the talks.
North Korea maintained firm stance on its demand Friday, saying Pyongyang could accept joint management and inspection after a light-water reactor is built.
"In order to establish mutual trust and consider the US concerns, we can accept joint management and inspection after a new light-water reactor is built. This demand is not unreasonable," said North Korea delegation spokesman Hyon Hak-bong.
Hyon said North Korea will continue to pursue peaceful nuclear programs in its own way no matter whether the United States would provide the country with a light-water reactor.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Washington would not depend wholly on the talks to resolve the Korean nuclear issue and is taking measures to prevent proliferation.
"We're not sitting still, you know, we're working on anti-proliferation measures that help to protect us," Rice said in a interview of New York Post on Thursday. "We are not wholly dependent on negotiations to get this done," according to a transcript released by the US State Department.
Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill held a third one-on-one meeting with North Korean chief Kim Gye-gwan since the resumption of the talks Tuesday. Hill said he had "good discussions" with Kim. "We are still in business," Hill said.
"But at this moment I don't know where those (discussions) would lead," Hill told reporters after a luncheon with South Korea and Japanese delegation heads.
The South Korean delegation chief Song Min-soon said the six-party talks are now at "the critical moment". The outcome rests on whether the parties could reach an agreement on the draft document presented by host China, Song told a news briefing Friday evening.
Analyst says there is slim chance for the parties to reach an agreement on substantive issue as the US side refused to allow the DPRK to have a light-water reactor. "The chance is slim, and the light-water reactor issue is North Korea's bottom line," said Qu Xing, a researcher with China Foreign Affairs University.
"However, it is still possible to reach an agreement on a set of principles," Qu acknowledged.
The first three rounds of six-party talks ended inconclusively. The fourth round began in late July and then went into five-week recess on Aug. 7.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2005)
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