The third round of six-party talks held in Beijing from June the 23^rd to June the 26^th according to what was decided on the meeting of the working group that held in Beijing from May 12 to 15.

 The United States put forward a formal proposal to solve the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue. In the seven-page text proposal, North Korea would be given a three-month preparatory period for dismantlement and removal of nuclear facilities, and North Korea is also asked to offer the US side a listing of nuclear activities at various time.

 The proposal also set ways to solve the security concerns of North Korea and cover the issues of lifting sanctions over North Korea and dealing with its energy needs.

 North Korea reiterated its position for making the Korean Peninsula nuclear weapon-free; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) would give up all its nuclear weapon programs once the United States abandoned its hostile policies toward the DPRK with actions, Kim Kye-Gwan, DPRK deputy foreign minister and head of the DPRK delegation, said at the opening ceremony of the third round of six-party talks.

 He said the "freeze for compensation" program proposed by the DPRK delegation could break the deadlock between the United States and the DPRK as a result of distrust and differences.

 The DPRK's nuclear programs were products of US hostility toward the DPRK, created for protecting itself and countering US nuclear threats, Kim said, stressing that the DPRK did not want to permanently possess nuclear weapons nor would it attack the United States with nuclear weapons.

 He added that the DPRK would like to hear something new from the US delegation and it would put forward concrete plans on freezing nuclear programs if the US party withdrew the CVID demand (complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement) and accepted the "freeze for compensation" program during the four-day talks.

 South Korea presented a new proposal, Lee Soo-Hyuck, deputy minister of foreign affairs and trade and head of the Republic of Korea (ROK) delegation to the third round of six-party talks, said that the ROK delegation had proposed detailed plans and corresponding measures on the abandonment of the nuclear programs. 

 He said the abandonment should meet two conditions: Firstly, the DPRK should, under international supervision, completely abolish all the nuclear programs, including the uranium enrichment program.

 Secondly, he said, as the first step of abandoning the nuclear programs, the DPRK should freeze all its nuclear programs by fixed time, seal up relevant materials and freeze relevant facilities under international supervision.

 Lee said if the DPRK froze the nuclear programs, the ROK would propose the following three measures in return:

 First, the ROK will provide the DPRK with heavy fuel oil. Second, the United States would provide a guarantee in written form on ensuring the DPRK's security, including removing hostility against the DPRK and making a non-aggression promise. And thirdly, the United States would hold consultations with the DPRK on removing it from the black list of countries supporting terrorism and slowing down sanctions toward the DPRK.

 China the host of the talks expressed its satisfaction for what it considered progress made in the third round of six-party talks.

 The third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has forged new steps for reaching the goal of denuclearization, and progress has been made in five aspects, Wang Yi, the Chinese delegation head to the talks, said after the four-day talks ended.  

 Wang Yi, also Chinese vice foreign minister, told a press conference that the third round of talks has reached new consensus based on the consolidation of the previous achievements.

 Wang said the first progress is that all the relevant parties have offered proposals and plans for the solution to the nuclear issue.

 According to Wang, the DPRK expressed its willingness to give up all nuclear weapon-related programs in a transparent way, and stressed that the freeze of the nuclear programs was the first step for the abandonment of the nuclear programs and it would accept inspection. The DPRK also offered specific plans on launching the freeze program for the first time.

 The United States reiterated it would not pursue a hostile policy toward the DPRK and offered, for the first time, comprehensive proposals for resolving the nuclear issue in an all-round way, he said.

 While the ROK put forward specific plans on the first steps for abandoning the nuclear programs, also for the first time, Wang said.

 Likewise, it was the first time Japan said it would provide energy aid to the DPRK on certain conditions for the freeze of the nuclear programs.

 Both China and Russia offered important plans and proposals for pressing ahead with the peaceful talks and overcoming the difficulties, Wang said.

"The proposals and plans are the results achieved through the efforts of all relevant parties since the talks started a year ago, and they also reflect the positive political will of all parties to push forward the peaceful talks," he said.

 For the second progress, Wang said the six parties reached consensus on the first phase of the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, and all agreed that the nuclear freeze and its corresponding measures were the first phase of the denuclearization process.

 The six parties expressed welcome and made positive assessment of varying degrees on the commitment of the DPRK, he said.

 Wang said the six parties agreed that the working group should convene at an early date to discuss specifically on the scope, duration and verification as well as corresponding measures in the process of denuclearization, which will help deepen talks on substantive matters and fundamentally promote the denuclearization process.

 The third progress showed that all parties agreed to take a step-by-step process of "words for words" and "action for action" in search for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, said Wang.

 Wang said the fourth progress is that the parties approved the Concept Paper on the Working Group, which decided the responsibility and operation way of the Working Group. "This will help the Working Group start a more effective, regular and practical work," he said.

 The last progress is that the parties agreed in principle to hold the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks in Beijing by the end of September, 2004, and released the second Chairman's Statement of the talks, which indicated that the talks will be continued, said Wang.