The third round of the six-party talks, involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, will begin Wednesday afternoon in Beijing to discuss the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue.  

All delegations for the four-day talks have arrived in Beijing and have been busy holding bilateral meetings prior to the talks, according to diplomatic sources.

The Chinese delegation was headed by Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The heads of the other delegations include DPRK's Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the United States James Kelly, ROK's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Soo-hyuck, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Alexander Alexeyev and Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Mitoji Yabunaka.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2004)