[Beijing, August 27, 2003] Senior envoys from N. Korea, S. Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the U.S. met today in Beijing to discuss issues related to N. Korea's nuclear programs.

US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly expects to have a frank dialogue, while the Russian delegate is only "cautiously optimistic" about the result of this conference. N. Korea insists upon giving up its nuclear program on the condition that the U.S. promises to not attack it, while the U.S. refuses to give any pre-conditions. The press predicts this multilateral conference will be fruitless since there is no commonly agreed upon agenda.