All concerned parties should hold the working meeting on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue as soon as possible in line with the consensus reached in the third round of six-party talks, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday.

Wang made the remarks in a meeting with Joseph R. DeTrani, a US State Department special envoy for Korean affairs, who was visiting China for working consultations.

During the third round of six-party talks last June, all concerned parties, involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, authorized the working group to convene at the earliest possible date.

The third round of talks achieved positive progresses, Wang said, adding that the working group meeting should be staged soon, and all relevant sides should hold in-depth discussions on such specific issues as how to implement the first stage of nuclear abandonment, so as to take practical steps as soon as possible towards denuclearization.

Ning Fukui, ambassador on Korean Peninsula affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, held working consultations with DeTrani previously, and the two sides exchanged in-depth views on current issues.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2004)