Annan commends participants for resumption of six-party talks on Korean Peninsula

Secretary-General Kofi Annan warmly welcomed the resumption of the six-party talks in Beijing on the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear weapons programme and said he would continue to work closely with the parties on this challenging set of issues.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan commended the parties for breaking the impasse and for creating the current positive momentum.

"The Secretary-General hopes that the resumed session will achieve substantive progress towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula that is stable, secure and prosperous. He maintains that a negotiated solution based on dialogue and goodwill is the right way to achieve these goals," the statement added.