A new round of six-party talks aimed at resolving the Korean peninsula nuclear issue is set to take place between Dec.16 and 18 in Beijing, the State Department said on Sunday.

As before, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Christopher Hill will head the American delegation, State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said.

The talks have stalled since the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) walked out of the negotiations with the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia a year ago.

The DPRK agreed to return to the talks in November after drawing international condemnation for its Oct.9 nuclear test.

"At this discussion, we expect that the parties will discuss ways to implement the September 2005 joint statement," Moore said.

In that joint statement issued over a year ago, the DPRK said it was committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs."

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)

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