BEIJING, September 19 (RIA Novosti, Alexey Yefimov) -- The six nations negotiating to put an end to North Korea's nuclear weapons program have adopted a joint statement on the principles of denuclearization, a Chinese official said Monday.
Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the Chinese delegation Wu Dawei said, "The goals of the fourth round of six-party talks have been achieved successfully through the efforts of all participants."
The joint statement was the first ever to be agreed upon after more than two years of negotiations involving four rounds of talks between North Korea, the United States, China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan.
The fourth round opened July 26 in Beijing. The participants recessed on August 7 and only resumed the talks September 13.
Until the last moment, the key obstacle to the final agreement had been North Korea's demand to pursue a peaceful nuclear program and obtain a light-water reactor from the United States in exchange for dismantling experimental graphite reactors at a nuclear facility in Yongbyon.
The United States had been firmly against North Korea's demands, refusing to consider the delivery of a light-water reactor to a country that is currently not a part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Nevertheless, China has managed to find a compromise for a joint statement satisfactory to all participants.
