UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised on Tuesday the "spirit of mutual respect" achieved at the fourth round of six-party talks for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which took a recess in Beijing Sunday.

He also found it encouraging that the participants were able to increase understanding and broaden areas of consensus, said a statement delivered by a UN spokesperson at the noon press briefing in New York.

"The secretary-general urges the governments concerned to use the time before the round is resumed in three weeks to identify ways to reconcile their needs and concerns," the spokesperson said.

Annan also extended special praise to China for "its dedication and tireless efforts to facilitate progress" as the host of the talks, the spokesperson added.

The six-party talks involve China, the US, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea. Negotiators from the six countries concluded 13 days of talks in Beijing Sunday without achieving a breakthrough in ending the US-North Korean dispute over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2005)