Chinese FM: Six-party talks meaningful

An informal meeting of Foreign Ministers involved in Six-Party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has concluded successfully. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi gave his assessment of the meeting on Wednesday in Singapore.

(L to R) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, United States  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chinese Foreign  Minister Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Pak Ui Chun and Japanese  Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura pose for a family  photo before the first foreign ministers' informal  meeting of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, in Singapore, July 23, 2008. (Xinhua/ Zhang Fengguo)

In a news briefing after the close-door talks on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Ministerial Meeting, Yang said that the Six-Party Talks had "very meaningful results".

He added that ministers exchanged views and deepened mutual understanding, expressing the will to continue pushing the Six-Party Talks forward.

Yang Jiechi, Chinese Foreign Minister said "I think this is quite significant. This in itself shows that the six-parties have the political will to move forward in the six-party process. There has been major progress towards the realization of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsular, normalization of relations between the relevant countries and the realization of peace and stability in northeast Asia."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attended the ministerial meeting, where she met with DPRK foreign minister Pak Ui Chun.

The talks mark the first time since 2004 that top diplomats from the United States and the DPRK have met face-to-face.

(L to R) South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan,  United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi arrive at the venue of the first foregin ministers' informal meeting of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue,  in Singapore, July 23, 2008. (Xinhua/Zhang Fengguo)