MOSCOW, July 22 (RIA Novosti, Anna Bobina) - Given the positions of Washington and Pyongyang, it is likely that progress will be made at the fourth round of talks on the North Korean nuclear problem, a senior Russian diplomat said.
The talks between the United States, North and South Korea,
China, Russia and Japan will open on July 26 in Beijing.
"Both the United States and North Korea have signaled that their delegations in Beijing will be ready to make certain concessions to set a constructive tone to the talks," said Alexander Alexeyev, the Russian deputy foreign minister and head of the Russian delegation at the talks.
The official said a number of consultations had been held
between the six countries ahead of the fourth round of talks.
Alexeyev said the Russian delegation had met with their American,
Chinese and North Korean counterparts. Moscow hosted consultations with South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, who is heading the South Korean delegation at the talks. The parties have signaled to one another that they want the talks to be constructive.
The fourth round of talks had previously been scheduled for
October 2004. They were postponed when Pyongyang said it was impossible to discuss the nuclear program against a background of constant threats from the United States. In February, North Korea announced it had nuclear weapons.
The talks between the six countries began in August 2003.
