UN chief Ban Ki-moon welcomes recent progress toward North Korea's nuclear disarmament at the six-party talks in Beijing, his press office said in a statement Wednesday.
"The secretary general welcomes the recent progress at the sixth round of the six-party talks in Beijing" and "recognizes this continuing progress as an important contribution to peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the statement noted.
Ban urged all participants to step up their efforts and dialogue "to further advance this multilateral process and to contribute to the resolution of bilateral issues."
Last Saturday, Pyongyang agreed to completely disable its main nuclear facilities by the end of October and to allow thorough site inspections to verify that all necessary steps had been taken.
In return for the deactivation of the nuclear facilities, the other five parties guaranteed delivery of all heavy fuel oil promised in exchange by the end of the same month, a joint statement said.
The parties have agreed to a verification mechanism that would include experts from the six nations visiting facilities, reviewing documents and interviewing technical personnel.
The six-nation talks — which involve China as host, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia — began in 2003 with the aim of persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs.
