The United States welcomes the results of the second round of Six-Party talks on North Korea's nuclear program that were held in Beijing, China, February 25-28, according to State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher.

In a February 28 statement, Boucher said that during the current round of talks the parties had serious discussions on the "comprehensive denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, including "the need for the complete irreversible and verifiable dismantlement of the North Korean nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium-enrichment based."

Boucher noted that while key differences remain that will need to be addressed in future talks, the parties made progress, and the United States was pleased with the high level of cooperation at the talks.

The parties --- North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the United States -- agreed to hold another round of talks by the end of the second quarter of this year, Boucher said.

He expressed hope that North Korea will continue to work with the five other parties "to achieve a satisfactory resolution to the problems created by its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

Press Statement
Richard Boucher, Spokesman
Washington, DC
February 28, 2004

Six-Party Talks on North Korean Nuclear Program

The United States welcomes the results of the second round of Six-Party talks, which were held in Beijing Feb. 25-28. At this round, the parties had very serious discussions on the comprehensive denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, including the need for the complete irreversible and verifiable dismantlement of the North Korean nuclear programs, both plutonium and uranium-enrichment based.

While key differences remain that will need to be addressed in further rounds of discussions, this round of talks made progress on a regularized process for the peaceful and diplomatic resolution of this issue. The parties agreed to hold another round of talks by the end of the second quarter of this year and to establish a working group to address, and attempt to resolve, detailed issues in between plenary sessions.

We worked closely with our partners in the talks and were pleased with the high degree of cooperation among us. In particular, we would like to thank the Chinese Government for not only participating fully in the talks, but also for its exemplary diplomatic efforts in organizing and hosting the talks.

We hope that North Korea will work with the five other parties to achieve a satisfactory resolution to the problems created by its pursuit of nuclear weapons.