Negotiators of the US and North Korea might meet for one-on-one consultation on Friday, US chief negotiator Christopher Hill said this morning.??

Hill told reporters that the ongoing six-party talks are "getting very much to the end," but negotiators still have "real differences" on how to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

"The good news is we knew where the substantive differences is ... so we really like to try to reach an agreement on principles," he said.

 

The US' stance is closer to China, South Korea, Russia and Japan. "We'll see if we can be closer to North Korea."

 

Hill said that "North Korea should have peaceful use of nuclear energy," but the US wants a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."

 

He said that past experiences showed that the North's nuclear facilities, even if they were used for civilian or research purposes, could be turned into "a weapon-producing facility" in "two months."

 

As for the content of the common document, Hill said it was possible that the verification of North Korea's nuclear facilities and programs would be included in the text.

 

Verification is "a key factor but not for this stage," he added.

 

Japanese delegation head Kenichiro Sasae said that all sides are making the final efforts to institute a joint document. The meeting between the US and North Korean delegations is the most important arrangement today.

 

All delegates from China, the US, Russia, Japan, South and North Korea continued negotiations today to seek ways to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue in a peaceful manner when the marathon fourth round of six-party talks ran into its record 11th day.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2005)