BEIJING, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- China has taken an unusually active role in the six-nation nuclear talks with North Korea, reports said Wednesday.
China, which is playing host to the three-day meeting, is pressing participants to agree on language for a multiparty declaration at the end of the talks that would provide a framework for future negotiations, said a foreign policy expert with close ties to China's Foreign Ministry.
"China does not expect that the talks will result in a major breakthrough," the analyst said told the New York Times. "But the Chinese side will clearly be disappointed if the main parties cannot at least agree to a declaration of principles."
In Moscow, the Tass news agency quoted Russia's negotiator at the talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov, as saying North Korea would not let in nuclear inspectors without "legally binding" guarantees that it would not be attacked by the United States.
