English Transcript

Cập nhật 24/07/2008 14:09:00

Foreign Ministers from the six nations involved in North Korea nuclear disarmament talks have concluded their first meeting since the multi-lateral process began five years ago.

The talks, which lasted about 80 minutes, were held on the sidelines of a regional summit in Singapore.

China's Foreign Minister described the dialogue as significant, because it showed the political will to move the process forward.

During the meeting, the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met her North Korean counterpart for the first time.

Later, Dr Rice said while there were no surprises, the atmosphere of the gathering was good.

Japan wants to move from mere promises to action in its bilateral talks with North Korea on the decades-old issue of abductees.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura raised the abduction issue with his North Korean counterpart, Pak Ui-chun, at an informal meeting in Singapore.