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China, DPRK to sign deals amid Wen's visit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-29 20:09

BEIJING: China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will sign a package of deals ranging from economy and trade to education and tourism during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pyongyang, said China's Foreign Ministry.

"The two sides will sign a number of cooperative documents during Premier Wen's visit," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular briefing on Tuesday.

Wen will pay an official goodwill visit to the DPRK from October 4-6 at the invitation of the DPRK Workers' Party Central Committee and the government.

Wen is set to meet with DPRK leaders on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern. He will also attend commemorative events for the China-DPRK Friendship Year, which coincides this year with the 60th anniversary of the two countries' bilateral diplomatic relations.

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"Premier Wen's visit is an important part of the programs marking the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations and it is also a return visit following DPRK Premier Kim Yong Il's Beijing tour in March," Jiang said.

She said the aims of Wen's visit are "summarizing the past and mapping out the future."

The DPRK was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with China -- on October 6, 1949, only days after the People's Republic of China was founded.

Jiang said China has always provided assistance to the DPRK to help the country with its economy and peoples' livelihoods.

On the Korean Peninsula situation, Jiang said it is in the shared interest of relevant parties to achieve a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

China, as always, maintains the issue be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, Jiang said.

"The six-party talks are an effective and practical way to realize the denuclearization of the Peninsula," Jiang said, calling for positive efforts from all concerned parties.

Initiated in 2003, the talks involve China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan. The last round took place in Beijing last December.