The new round of six-nation talks is to open March 19 in Beijing following a breakthrough deal in February, when Pyongyang agreed to shut down its reactor, allow UN inspectors back to its nuclear sites in exchange for aid and other incentives.
"We cannot expect any breakthrough results, because the new round will mostly focus on monitoring and evaluating the progress [of earlier agreements]," said Alexander Losyukov, who heads the Russian delegation at the talks.
Losyukov said the next round could also outline further steps or fix timeframes for existing deals.
"Decisions were made, but there are a lot of aspects that will have to be elaborated on during the first [denuclearization] phase," the diplomat said.
He said the next round could take two or three days. But previous gathering of the United States, South Korea, China, Russia and Japan in Beijing, also expected to take three days, lasted more than a week, leading to a turning point in the long-running nuclear dispute.
Losyukov said the first meeting of a working group on security in northeastern Asia, led by Russia, would take place March 16.
In February, the countries moved to set up five working groups to facilitate the Communist nation's nuclear disarmament. They include two bilateral groups to improve the North's ties with South Korea and Japan, and multilateral groups to address denuclearization led by China, economic aid to Pyongyang led by Seoul, and regional peace and security.
"...We will propose focusing on measures to ensure smooth six-party talks and create a friendly atmosphere, and in the longer term we will seek to set up a body to tackle security issues in northeastern Asia," Losyukov said.
The group on economic cooperation with the impoverished nation is holding a session in Beijing at the moment, the first in a series of working groups' meetings ahead of the March 19 round of six-nation talks. The denuclearization group will gather Saturday.
