Diplomats begin arriving in China for 6-party talks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-02-23 16:08

The chief Russian delegate to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear issue said Monday he supports Pyongyang's proposal to freeze its nuclear program but called it just one step in the process, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov's delegation was the first to arrive in the Chinese capital for the talks, set to begin Wednesday. He expressed ``cautious optimism'' about the outcomes.

Losyukov was expected to begin meetings at China's Foreign Ministry later Monday. The American and Japanese delegations were scheduled to arrive later Monday, the Chinese government said, and the North Koreans and South Koreans were due Tuesday morning.

Losyukov's arrival came as the American delegation's leader, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul to hammer out a common stance ahead of the negotiations.

At issue is North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea has said it would freeze its nuclear activities as a first step to resolving the standoff in return for economic concessions from the United States. Losyukov, at Beijing's Capital Airport, called Pyongyang's freeze proposal ``a phase'' for resolving the dispute, Xinhua said.

Losyukov said he was exhibiting ``cautious optimism'' on the upcoming talks, though he acknowledged ``a number of uncertainties.'' He didn't elaborate, though he said the views of Russia and China about the matter were ``very close.''

China advocates a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and has encouraged the various sides to avoid ratcheting up any belligerent talk. Beijing has been pushing to broker.

It's unclear how that issue will play out during the talks, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said in Seoul. ``We will have to find out in Beijing,'' he said.

North Korea has said it would freeze its nuclear activities as a first step to resolving the standoff, in return for economic concessions from the United States.

But Washington has demanded that North Korea first start dismantling its nuclear programs.