Special Report: The sixth round of six-party talks

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Top negotiator of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Chun Yung-woo said Sunday that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has made “considerable concessions” in the second phase of sixth round of six-party talks.

    The DPRK has shown resolution to reach a joint document, Chun said.

    The draft document has set explicit time limits for the DPRK to declare its nuclear programs and disable the existing nuclear facilities, he added.

    ”All the parties concerned have clear understandings with respect to the actions that should be taken within certain periods of time,” the senior diplomat said.

    A joint document, which marks the commencement of the second phase of actions, had been drawn out and would be finalized with the approval of the governments of the six delegations in two days.

    An ROK delegate official who declined to give his name said the DPRK, with a careful and sincere attitude, was expected to articulate reasons for “the nuclear facilities which are not able to declare at present” by the end of the year.

    He estimated that it would take around one year to wrap up the disablement of the DPRK’s nuclear facilities.

    Most goals that the ROK wanted to achieve in the meeting have been reflected in the draft document while the differences of this session of talks mostly concern what contents in the draft document should be publicized, the official said.

    Chinese delegation head Wu Dawei, also chairman of the talks, said on Sunday that the second phase of the sixth round of the six-party talks would recess for two days.

    Wu said the reason for the two-day recess was that a joint document had been drawn out and still needs the approval of the governments of the six delegations.

    The current phase of the talks were originally scheduled to run from Sept. 27 to 30.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed here Sunday the government’s determination to advance reform and opening-up on the eve of the 58th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China(PRC), two weeks ahead of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

    At a reception in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing marking the anniversary, Wen cited the upcoming CPC congress, which is proposed to convene on Oct. 15, as “a congress of great importance to be held at a time when China’s reform and development have entered a crucial stage.”

    ”We are on a path of building socialism with distinctive Chinese features, also a broad path to China’s rejuvenation, development and prosperity,” Wen said.

    The congress is expected to make strategic arrangements for the overall advancement of China’s reform and opening-up and socialist modernization drive, as well as for the overall advancement of the grand project of Party building.

    The premier pointed out that China will become a prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious modern socialist country if it adheres to the path of scientific development.

    ”We are confident that so long as we are committed to following the path of building socialism with distinctive Chinese features and reform and opening-up, we can surely build China into a modern socialist country of prosperity, democracy, high ethical standards and harmony,” he said.

    The central government will continue to work with Hong Kong and Macao people to ensure their prosperity and stability, to work with all the Taiwan compatriots to oppose and repulse separatist activities for “Taiwan independence” and advance the great cause of China’s peaceful reunification, Wen said.

    China will pursue peaceful development, continue to follow a win-win opening-up policy to uphold world peace and advance common development, Wen said.

    At present were more than 1,500 Chinese and foreign personages, including senior Chinese leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan.

    GUANGZHOU, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Tropical Storm Lekima, the 15th tropical storm for this year, is expected to lash south China with heavy rain and strong gales during the weeklong National Day holiday period, said sources with the provincial meteorological observatory of Guangdong on Sunday.

    Formed at 11 a.m. on Sunday over the South China Sea, the tropical storm was located at 15.3 degrees north and 115.6 degrees east, according to the observatory.

    Lekima is packing winds of about 65 kilometers per hour at its eye and is heading westward at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, and is gaining momentum.

    It is forecast to unleash rain and gales on south China’s Guangdong and Hainan Provinces, and tourists to the coastal areas are warned to be on alert during the first two or three days of the “golden week”.

    Lekima is a type of fruit in Vietnam.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — The six parties for the Korean peninsula nuclear issue have basically reached an agreement on the draft joint document, Japan’s head delegate to the six-party talks Kenichiro Sasae said Sunday.

    ”Further progress has been made for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in the joint document. Meanwhile, all parties have shown the understanding of pushing forward the relations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States and Japan,” Sasae told reporters at his hotel.

    As to the economic and energy assistance to the DPRK and the future orientation of the talks, all delegations have reached an agreement in the document, said Sasae, refusing to reveal more details.

    The process of the current phase of the talks is difficult, but all sides have made sincere efforts for reaching an agreement, he said.

    Concerning the peace and stability of northeast Asia, it is highly important to resolve the pending issues between the United States and the DPRK, and those between Japan and DPRK, he said.

    During the meetings held between Japan and the DPRK, both sides agreed that, despite the difficulty in improving and developing the Japan-DPRK relations, the two countries should conduct frequent and close consultations and carry out sincere dialogues to resolve the unsettled issues with common concerns, including the history and the abduction issues, he said.

    The heads of delegations will contact their governments for the final approval of the document during the two-day recession, he said, adding that the document will be publicized with the consent of governments of all the six parties.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Hu Jintao accepted here Sunday credentials presented respectively by new ambassadors to China from Estonia, Denmark, Cyprus, Israel, Luxembourg, Mauritania, Costa Rica, and Kyrgyzstan.

    The eight new ambassadors include: Andres Unga from Estonia, Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen from Denmark, Marios Ieronymides from Cyprus, Amos Nadai from Israel, Carlo Krieger from Luxembourg, Sidi Mohamed Ould Taleb Amar from Mauritania, Antonio Burgues Teran from Costa Rica, and Kaderbek Sarbaev from Kyrgyzstan.

    BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — The Beijing government has finally decided to cut subway fares by about 30 percent amid efforts to boost public transport, ease road congestion and improve air quality ahead of the Olympics.

    A single pricing system which means a one-way ticket costs just two yuan (27 U.S. cents), down from three yuan, will be introduced on Oct. 7, the same day as the opening of a new subway line which will run through the heart of the city from north to south.

    Construction on the 27.6-km new line, Beijing’s No. 5 Subway Line, began in December 2002, costing 12 billion yuan (about 1.6 billion U.S. dollars).

    Beijing now has four subway lines with a total mileage of 114 km and they transport about 1.15 million passengers daily, 15 percent of the total commuters.

    According to the municipal government, Beijing will add three subway lines next year and the total mileage will reach 200 km.

    Before the final decision of lowering fares was made, a public hearing was held on Wednesday by the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, in which two subway pricing systems were proposed: lowering the price of a one-way ticket to two yuan; adopting a flexible pricing system ranging from two yuan to four yuan according to the distance one travels.

    Most of the 25 people attending the meeting, including transport experts, passengers, representatives of the metro operator and government officials, favored the single pricing system, under which 80 percent of commuters will save 1.3 yuan (17 cents) every trip.

    ”The single pricing system is easier to adopt and cheaper for passengers. As more subway lines are completed, more people will choose to take the subway, the above-ground traffic jams will be eased and air quality will be better,” said Liu Tongliang, head ofthe Beijing Municipal Transportation Administration Bureau.

    Taking into account the inevitable rise of the number of subway passengers, local traffic authorities have promised to increase subway trains and shorten intervals between trains to boost the transport capacity.

    Meanwhile, Liu said the government would increase expenditure on public transport by 1 billion yuan (133 million U.S. dollars) annually after the single price scheme is adopted.

    Road congestion has been a major problem yet to be solved for the Chinese capital, which now registers more than 3 million vehicles, and citizens have been urged to take public transport to ease traffic pressure.

    The municipal government has been giving discounts of up to 60 percent for residents — and even 80 percent for students — for bus tickets since the beginning of this year to encourage people to choose public transport.

    The city aims to raise the proportion of citizens choosing public transport from about 30 percent to more than 40 percent by 2010, according to Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Communications.

    To achieve this goal, Beijing will raise the number of buses from 18,000 to 21,000 by 2010, and extend the metro line from present 114 km to at least 270 km, Liu said.