The third round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue will start Wednesday. Heads of all delegations have arrived and held meetings separately so far.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi acknowledged that substantial issues have been discussed in the six-party talks, and the talks have entered a crucial period.

"It is hard to avoid some difficulties, twists and turns, and even some setbacks in the process of resolving the nuclear issue," Wang said, "the important thing is to maintain the momentum of dialogues, keep the process of talks, and steadily move forward toward the preset goals."

The second working-level meeting, which was aimed at making final preparations for the talks, concluded at noon Tuesday in Beijing.

The six parties have had an exchanged of in-depth views on building a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula and freezing nuclear facilities as well as resorting to corresponding measures, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue said, noting that the all sides have agreed to have further discussion on existing differences.

Upon arrival, China, Russia, DPRK and ROK delegation heads held meetings separately and DPRK, ROK and the United States will have bilateral meetings Wednesday morning.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing called all parties to show "patience" and "creativity" in the talks.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US side had always entered the six-party talks "with a spirit and trying to solve this problem," urging the DPRK side to "fully dismantle in a way that the whole world can see."

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2004)