On Tuesday, North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement saying, "We will return to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and sign the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA and comply with it immediately upon the U.S. provision of light water reactors, a basis of confidence-building, to us."

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang commented, "I don't think the North Korean side misunderstood or misinterpreted the joint statement" when asked if the country comprehended its commitments in the document to diffuse the crisis over the North's nuclear ambitions.

"We've already agreed that we should achieve the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful dialogue and this is general framework, but what measures should be taken within this framework, and what questions should be resolved, I think this requires relevant parties to have further consultation."

Qin noted that "in the joint statement, all parties should follow the principle of action for action, word for word, and we should take a phased manner to implement the consensus." He said signatories "should take a responsible manner to implement the consensus, and implement the commitment we've made in the common statement."

The spokesman ended his remark by reiterating the goal was to "eventually realize a denuclearized Korean peninsula." Qin's comment of a "phased manner" did not indicate what China's position is concerning North Korea's reinterpretation of principles it had promised less than 24 hours earlier.

Point one of the joint statement starts: "The six parties unanimously reaffirmed that the goal of the six-party talks is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner."

"The DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning at an early date to the treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) and to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards," reads the second paragraph.

The next one says: "The United States affirmed that it has no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and has no intention to attack or invade the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons."

After that came South Korea's promise for a denuclearized peninsula: "The ROK (Republic of Korea) reaffirmed its commitment not to receive or deploy nuclear weapons in accordance with the 1992 joint declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while affirming that there exist no nuclear weapons within its territory."

The statement then makes another reference to the accord reached 13 years ago by both governments of the divided people: "The 1992 joint declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be observed and implemented."

The last sentence under point one was the major issue of contention during the Sept. 13-19 round of discussions: "The DPRK stated that it has the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The other parties expressed their respect and agreed to discuss at an appropriate time the subject of the provision of light-water reactor to the DPRK."

Analysts say the document signed Monday in Beijing was more of face-saving concession to China by the U.S. and North Korea rather than final resolution of problems. The major weakness with the joint statement of principles is that it failed to address the issue of sequencing. Finding the "appropriate time" is the linchpin where the two sides remain poles apart.

A copy of Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill's statement delivered at the closing plenary of the fourth round of the six party talks Monday made clear the U.S. position on the sequence of events.

Hill began by noting "the goal of the six-party talks is the prompt and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. When this goal is achieved, it will open up a new chapter for all Korean people. We know that the document includes undertakings for all the parties: my government is prepared to fulfill all our undertakings."

"In the statement of principles, there is a reference to the "appropriate time" to discuss the subject of the DPRK's use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, such as the subject of the provision of a light water reactor," the top American negotiator said.

Hill explicitly laid out that time would come when North Korea did two things: "Promptly eliminated all nuclear weapons and all nuclear programs, and this has been verified to the satisfaction of all parties by credible international means including the IAEA;" and "When the DPRK has come into full compliance with NPRT and IAEA safeguards, and has demonstrated a sustained commitment to cooperation and transparency and has ceased proliferating nuclear technology." NPRT is the acronym for NPT in American diplomatic usage.

The United States gave subtle hints of its dissatisfaction with the agreement Monday when Hill did not join the other five representatives meeting with the media at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse where negotiations had taken place. Rather praise the progress made, the U.S. envoy opted to return to Washington as soon as possible, a clear indicator much work lies ahead.

Publicly however, Hill was upbeat with reporters in the lobby of the China World Hotel prior to his departure. He put on a good face thanking the Chinese for their tireless efforts in trying to make the talks a success and calling the joint statement a win-win situation once North Korea gets moving on its obligations.

Asked about the next round in November, Hill said the key element was "discussion of the verification regime" adding, "we have to do some early consultations to see how that will work."

"We worked very hard on these sets of principles so that there would be clarity and everyone would know what the deal is: we didn't want a situation where we would create ambiguity and then have problems in further stages," United Press International learned.

Hill told reporters, "I think we've succeeded in being very clear so I hope we can move through these points with some pace." Asked about the sequence of events, Hill said it was "very important, but not all of the sequencing has been worked out."

After North Korea's comments Tuesday, the six-party process seems to have taken one step forward and two steps back in less than 24 hours.

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