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SIX foreign ministers involved in talks over North Korea's weapons program will meet for the first time in Singapore in a gathering that China said on Tuesday would push forward the process of denuclearisation.
Foreign ministers from China, Russia, Japan, the United States and the two Koreas will hold talks on Wednesday - the first such meeting since 'six party' talks began in 2003 - seeking to advance the process of North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
It's very significant because this is probably the first time the foreign ministers from the six parties are having such a meeting', China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told reporters after talks with his Japanese counterpart. 'I think it will be beneficial to pushing forward the progress of the six-party talks'.
China, the host of the six-party talks, said the meeting would focus on how to take the process forward into the final phase - the full dismantling of North Korea's nuclear arms programme and surrendering of fissile material in exchange for aid and diplomatic rewards.
'This is an informal meeting and of course we think it's necessary for the six foreign ministers to come together and to exchange views so as to demonstrate that the six parties have a common goal - that is the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula', said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
China's concerns are that we hope that the six parties will ...honour each other's commitments...so that we can push the talks into the next phase', he told reporters.
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