Foreign and Military Affairs

Six-Party Talks the way to go: ROK PM

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-13 22:03

BEIJING- Visiting Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Kim Hwang-sik on Wednesday said that engaging in Six-Party Talks is the way to resolve the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue and urged relevant parties to make the talks substantial, if resumed.

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Kim made the remarks in Beijing during interviews with Chinese press during his official visit to China.

Calling the six-party talks "an important mechanism to realize peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and northeast Asia," Kim said the talks could achieve more substantial results if resumed and that all parties concerned should cooperate in this regard.

He added that a show of sincerity for denuclearization by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is a prerequisite for substantial results from the six-party talks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular press briefing Tuesday afternoon that DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan was visiting China at the invitation of Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, and held talks with several senior diplomats, including Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

"The Chinese side has conducted close contact with other sides recently and held in-depth discussions on resuming six-party talks. We hope relevant sides will work with us and actively hold dialogue and make contact to create favorable conditions for resuming talks," Hong said.

The six-party talks, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, ROK, Russia and Japan, began in 2003. Six rounds of talks were held before being stalled in December 2008.