Chief negotiator of the South Korea Song Min-soon said Sunday it was hard to tell when the ongoing nuclear talks would conclude, but all sides agreed to establish a framework for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
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Song, also South Korea deputy foreign minister, said the deputy heads of the six delegations reached the consensus at their meeting on the joint document of the talks held in Beijing Sunday morning.
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The deputy heads heard the opinions of all sides but did not discuss the details of the joint document, Song told a news briefing Sunday afternoon.
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The deputy heads' session opened at 10:10 Sunday morning and lasted approximately 5 hours. All sides discussed the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and measures they, excluding the North Korea, should take to achieve the goal. At the meeting, deputy heads heard the opinions of all sides on the drafted joint document, but did not consult wording of it, according to Song.
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Song said, "The drafted joint document the deputy heads' discussed today was not long, however, the six sides wanted it to include all core contents of the talks that have been so far consulted."
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Such issues as the human rights in the North Korea was not talked about at the Sunday's deputy head's meeting, Song added.
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After the meeting, another chief delegates' or deputy heads' session will be held if it is necessary, according to Song. He said although it? was hard to say when the current round of the six-party talks would come to an end, all sides had agreed to reach an agreement that would embody the core contents of the talks through cooperation.
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"The important scheme the South Korea advanced will become a significant pillar for the settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue," Song said.
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Song added that as the best frame of reference, the denuclearization declaration of the Korean Peninsula that came into being in 1992 would be used in a flexible manner for the settlement of the nuclear issue.?

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2005)