Negotiations on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons were extended by a day as talks today remained deadlocked over the draft of a joint statement which includes Pyongyang’s demand for light-water reactors. The fourth round of the six-party talks on the Korean peninsula nuclear issue are nearing the end and will continue tomorrow, Chinese delegation spokesman Liu Jianchao announced after chief negotiators from the US, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia met briefly today. The US and North Korea remained divided over the latest draft of a joint statement of principles, which mentions possible future construction of a light-water reactor demanded by Pyongyang, diplomatic sources said. Japanese chief negotiator Sasae Kenichiro told reporters that “so far there is still a possibility of reaching an agreement. “The talks are nearing the end and will continue on monday,” said Liu.The six delegations had been supposed to have a plenary session today morning, which, however, was replaced by a meeting of delegation heads due to unknown reason. us chief negotiator Christopher Hill said the differences over the wording of the draft between the delegations remained.
