Multilateral Talks In Beijing

Multilateral talks involving the United States, China, and North Korea will take place April 23 - April 25 in Beijing. We intend to conduct serious talks on the situation created by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, and our interagency delegation for those talks has already departed Washington and is on its way to Beijing.

The interagency U.S. delegation will be headed by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly. The North Korean delegation will be headed by Deputy Director General Li Gun from the American Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Chinese delegation will be headed by Director General for Asian Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Fu Ying.

North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons is a matter of great concern to the entire international community, and especially to countries in the region, all of whom are interested in participating directly in the talks. We believe the inclusion of others in multilateral talks, South Korea and Japan above all, would be essential for reaching agreement on substantive issues.

We appreciate China's efforts to achieve the international community's shared goal of a peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

The U.S. will remain in close consultation with Japan, Korea, and work with China and with other friends and allies, on our diplomatic efforts to resolve the international community's concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.