On August 27, 2003, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met heads of the six delegations to the Beijing six-party talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Li said that the convocation of the talks itself is a fruit resulted from concerted efforts made by various parties. Peace is one of the most valuable assets and safeguarding peace through dialogues is the most dependable. The delegations are in Beijing for peace, stability, and the common aspiration of the world, which marks another important progress in peacefully solving the Korean nuclear issue and should be cherished by various parties.

Li said that all parties concerned hope for a peaceful, stable and nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Surrounding negotiation tables, the six delegations exchanged views on the nuclear issue on the peninsula and peace and security in Northeast Asia, which helped improve understanding among those nations and showed their political will in peacefully solving the issue through talks. However, the nuclear issue is rather complicated and cannot be solved at a single strike. He hoped that the concerned parties, with full candor and mutual respect, could seek common grounds while conserving differences and making progress step by step, and create good atmosphere for future talks and keep the mechanism of six-party talks going.

The parties said that today’s talks mark a good start. They also thank the Chinese side for arranging the talks.