Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi was rounding his two-day visit to
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday to
exchange opinions on holding the next round of six-way talks on the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Wang Yi talked with DPRK Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim
Kye-gwan, then met with First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang
Sok-ju and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Chung-il.
Both sides expressed a willingness to make appropriate
preparations for holding the next round of talks in a bid to
convene the meeting early next year and continue the process of
peaceful settlement through dialogue.
They agreed the next round of six-way talks is crucial to
solving the nuclear issue.
Wang said China attaches importance to the DPRK stand, which
targets abandoning its nuclear programs, and said the country's
reasonable concerns should be addressed.
The nuclear issue should be settled with concerted steps, mutual
respect and equal negotiation, Wang added.
The six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, Japan, Russia,
the Republic of Korea and the United States, is a mechanism set to
solve the nuclear issue.
The six parties concluded the first round of talks in Beijing at
the end of August. It was the first time all the involved countries
sat around a table together to discuss a solution since the nuclear
issue surfaced late last year.
Although no important breakthrough was made in the first round
of talks, all the participants agreed to continue the multilateral
negotiation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 27, 2003)