Head of the Chinese delegation to the third-round six-party talks, Wang Yi, had separate bilateral consultations Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning with the delegation heads of Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States and Japan, sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.  

Wang and the other delegation heads exchanged views on securing smooth talks, consolidating the achievements already made, broadening common grounds, and working for reaching a principled consensus on substantial issues such as the building of a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula and starting the denuclearization process.

All the five parties spoke highly of China's active efforts to make preparations for the third round of six-party talks and to promote the process of the talks. They said they would show flexibility and try to make progress in the six-party talks.

The third round of six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan, will be held from Wednesday to Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2004)