A two-day closed-door meeting on Northeast Asian security is under way in New York. It is attended by delegates from China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States. These five nations, together with Russia, have been conducting the six-party talks on the North Korea nuclear issue.

The meeting is organized by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, a US nongovernmental organization focusing on key issues and conflicts affecting US interests.

Yang Xiyu, director of the Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula affairs office, said that such exchanges, conducted in a variety of forms and through different channels, can help solve sensitive matters, such as the North Korea nuclear issue.

Yang, who is attending the meeting, noted that all the participants contributed to the discussion in a free, frank and constructive manner. All are attending in a private capacity, he noted, and their comments did not necessarily reflect the views of their respective governments.

The first day's agenda mainly focused on issues related to the six-party talks and the development of the North Korea nuclear issue, but they did not touch upon the next round of the talks or their preparation.

"That is not supposed to be the concern of the present meeting," Yang said.

Former US Defense Secretary William Perry and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger both delivered speeches at the meeting.

South Korea's ambassador to the United States, Han Sung-joo, was scheduled to speak at the session being held on Wednesday morning.

Joseph DeTrani, the US special envoy for Korean affairs, did not schedule bilateral meetings during Tuesday's conference, but there were unconfirmed reports that he was seen talking with Li Gun, deputy head of US affairs at the North Korea Foreign Ministry. DeTrani and Li have represented their countries at the working party meetings.

This is the second year that Li attended the National Committee's conference. A US State Department official said the United States has allowed North Korea officials to attend conferences from time to time since 1988.

A US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "We are not seeking a bilateral negotiation with the North Koreans. We are seeking a multilateral solution to a problem of multinational interest, and we think the best way is the six-party talks."

US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said last week the United States would like to convene a working party meeting of the participants in the six-party talks as soon as possible to prepare for the next session, expected to be held in Beijing by the end of next month.

(China Daily August 12, 2004)