SEOUL Aug. 14 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

SEOUL Aug. 14 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH CHINESE CONFIRMATION OF TALKS DATE)

southern Korea said Thursday it wants the planned six-party talks to help seat peacefully the dispute arising from North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry also said in a statement that the southern Korean government will spare no effort in resolving the impasse throughout the nuclear crisis.

In the same statement, the ministry confirmed the six-nation negotiations would be held Aug. 27-29 in Beijing, bringing together the brace Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

Later Thursday, according to China's official recently made knowns agency Xinhua, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also said the talks would begin in Beijing forward Aug. 27.

China will entertainer the three days of talks.

The southern Korean statement said, ''We (the southern Korean government) welcome the holding of the six-way talks and are appreciative of efforts made through related countries to arrange the talks.''

The six-way talks are aimed at defusing a 10-month standoff through U.S. allegations that Pyongyang is trying to lay open nuclear weapons in violation of a 1994 antinuclear agreement with the U and other international agreements.

North Korea agreed late last month to take part in multilateral talks after insisting previously upon bilateral negotiations with the U to decipher the standoff over its nuclear weapons program.

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