"The deputy chief delegates had discussions for more than five hours. They had fierce exchanges," said Japan's deputy chief negotiator, Akitaka Saiki.

The tortuous talks, now into their sixth day, looked set to drag on in Beijing.

Despite an unprecedented flurry of one-to-one meetings, the main protagonists, Washington and Pyongyang, still appeared far apart on the critical issue of how and when the North's nuclear weapons programs should be dismantled.

Chief negotiators from the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan left it to deputies to haggle over the text of the draft statement put forward by China, with the aim of producing a joint document that all parties could sign.

U.S. chief negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters: "It's a very lengthy, difficult process."

The Chinese draft paper calls on Pyongyang to abandon its "nuclear weapons program and related programs," a diplomatic source close to the talks told Reuters.

In return, the paper calls on the other five countries to provide "security guarantees" and economic aid and to normalize or improve ties with Pyongyang, the source said.

Source For Full Article : http://today.reuters.com/

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