Korean nuclear issue on agenda for foreign minister's visit to US

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to the United States from Tuesday to Thursday.[Photo from CCTV NEWS]

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to the United States from Tuesday to Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.

Wang's visit is expected to set the agenda for high-level communication between China and the US this year, Hua said, and he will discuss with counterpart John Kerry deepening pragmatic cooperation and constructively handling sensitive issues between the nations, she added.

Regarding the Korean nuclear question, Hua said Beijing and Washington maintained "close communication over the issue" and Wang will propose the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a truce-to-peace mechanism be pursued at the same time to solve major concerns of all parties in a balanced way.

China supports a new and more powerful resolution on Pyongyang from the UN Security Council, Hua said but she also called for relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and stick to the direction of resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation.

China rejects US charge of raising South China Sea tensions

China's military deployments in the South China Sea are no different from US deployments on Hawaii, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday, rejecting a US accusation of raising tensions in the area ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Washington this week.

"China deploying necessary, limited defensive facilities on its own territory is not substantively different from the United States defending Hawaii," Hua said.

The US last week accused China of "militarizing" the South China Sea by deploying surface-to-air missiles on Yongxing island.

Asked whether the South China Sea, as well as the missile deployment, will be raised during Wang's meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Hua said Washington should "stop using the issue to make a fuss".

It is the US frequently sending military planes and vessels to the South China Sea to conduct close-up military surveillance against China that heightened tensions in the area, Hua said, and that is the biggest cause of the militarization of the South China Sea.