Annan welcomes the resumption of talks

According to BNA, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed the resumption of talks in Beijing to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapon programme, urging the participants to achieve "substantive progress."
Annan said in a statement that progress in the talks would lead to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula that will be "stable, secure and prosperous." The six-nation talks began its fourth round in Beijing after North Korea dropped its year-old boycott. The other parties are the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.