US, Chinese Foreign Ministers Meet In Bali

Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - United States Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton met  her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi here on Friday.

The meeting lasted for one hour and was closed for the media. After the meeting, both ministers left the conference room without giving a comment to tens of waiting journalists.

The bilateral meeting between the US and China on Friday was conducted a day ahead of the 18th ASEAN Regional Forum on Saturday (July 23).

The ARF itself is expected to be participated in by foreign ministers or representatives from the ten ASEAN member states, Bangladesh, Canada, China, South Korea, North Korea, European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and the United States.

The presence of countries of the Six Party Talks namely South Korea, North Korea, the US, Russia, China and Japan raises hoped the ARF can be a momentum for all parties to resume negotiations on the conflict in the Korean peninsula.

Earlier, the foreign ministers of  the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for an early resumption of the stalled talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

In a joint statement issued after the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting last Tuesday (July 20), the top diplomats from the 10 member countries said they "urged for an  early resumption of the six-party talks," which group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

"We reaffirmed our support to the efforts to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," the statement said, calling on the six-party members to "create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue and consultation."

The six-party talks have been dormant since late 2008 after North Korea walked out of the multilateral process after a new round of U.N. sanctions.(*)