Delegates toiled in vain on Monday on the seventh day of North Korean nuclear crisis talks, failing to thrash out a consensus statement laying down even minimal principles for an eventual settlement. "We had vigorous discussions, but we can't say there was major progress," Japanese chief delegate Kenichiro Sasae said in Beijing after discussions ended for the day. "Major discourse remains and therefore the talks will continue."
"We concentrated our discussions on basic issues today, but the parties concerned remained far apart in each other's positions," a Japanese delegate said.
"We are still not sure when the talks will end."
The past week has been marked by unusually frequent contact between Washington and Pyongyang, the main protagonists in a crisis now nearly three years old, creating a more positive atmosphere than at three previous inconclusive rounds.
But with discussions now headed into a second week, envoys from the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China were still struggling to hammer out a joint statement.
That statement was not even expected to address the core issue of whether Pyongyang should dismantle its nuclear facilities as a precondition to aid and security guarantees, as Washington wants, or whether the assurances should come first.
That appears beyond the scope of the current talks session, the fourth since the crisis erupted nearly three years ago.
After a weekend of sometimes acrimonious discussions by lower-level envoys on a draft text presented by China, the host nation took note of the arguments and put forward a revised text.
"Chief negotiators from the six nations had frequent shuttle contacts for in-depth discussions on the wording of the drafted joint document," China's Xinhua news agency said later.
Yet the day ended with no consensus.
THIRD DRAFT: South Korean deputy chief negotiator Cho Tae-yong told reporters: "We are steadily moving forward." He said China was likely to circulate a third draft tomorrow.
Chief US negotiator Christopher Hill said the second draft included mention of South Korea's offer to supply the North with 2,000 megawatts of electricity if it dismantled its weapons programmes. That is roughly equivalent to the power-strapped state's total output.
Pyongyang was said to have voiced concern over the proposal, fearing that it could be held hostage for political reasons.
Russian news agencies reported later that Moscow, seeking a way out of the Beijing impasse, might offer North Korea electricity and gas and even help build a nuclear power station if Pyongyang gave up its weapons programme.
South Korean envoy Song Min-soon said on Monday morning the six parties had so far agreed only to set up a framework for eventual denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Seoul's Yonhap news agency said later that the six parties were considering not even specifically mentioning North Korea's possible dismantling of its nuclear programmes but rather expressing the idea in a roundabout way.
Tokyo media reported that Japan had criticised the initial Chinese draft for failing to note the need to find a solution to the past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents.
Japan's negotiating partners had been urging it not to pursue the issue in Beijing for fear of torpedoing the nuclear talks.
Given historic rivalries between the six parties, any joint statement would mark a breakthrough at talks where past progress was measured by whether delegates could even agree to reconvene.
China's initial draft called on Pyongyang to abandon its "nuclear weapons programmes and related programmes" in return for the other five providing security, economic aid and improved ties, a diplomatic source told Reuters. It did not address who should move first or if the parties should move simultaneously, avoiding the crucial issue of timing.
Washington accused Pyongyang in 2002 of pursuing a covert uranium-based weapons programme in addition to its mothballed plutonium-based activities at Yongbyon.
The North responded by expelling UN nuclear inspectors, withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and breaking the seals at the Yongbyon complex.
Pyongyang raised the stakes in February, announcing it had nuclear weapons and demanding aid, assurances and diplomatic recognition from Washington in return for scrapping them.
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