Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losiukov will hold talks
with his Chinese counterpart Yang Wenchang Friday to talk about the
nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
Losiukov, who is also the Russian President's special envoy, will
next travel to Pyongyang to discuss the nuclear issue with the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
"We hope that the (Russian envoy's) mediation will succeed," said
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue at a regular briefing.
Losiukov's visit is among a flurry of international efforts to ease
the current nuclear tension on the Korean Peninsula. US Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly
and Vice-Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing talked the issue over on
Wednesday. United Nations (UN) and Australian delegations hoping to
ease the tension have also exchanged views with the Chinese side,
according to Zhang.
"China is willing to exert joint efforts with related sides and
push for the early resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue," Zhang
said. "We will keep in close contact and consultation with related
parties."
Zhang said during a briefing on Tuesday that there are no
objections on the Chinese side if the DPRK and the United States
want to hold talks in Beijing. However, she said Thursday that so
far neither side has made the proposal.
China has reiterated on various occasions that it supports peace,
stability and non-nuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. China has
also advocated dialogue as the most effective way to resolve the
problem.
Zhang also announced Thursday that Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan
will attend an anti-terrorism meeting of foreign ministers to be
held by the United Nations Security Council in New York next
Monday.
According to Zhang, the meeting will review international
anti-terrorism cooperation since the September 11 terrorist attacks
against the United States, and determine the focus for the new
year.
Tang will address the meeting regarding China's stance on the fight
against terrorism and will hold talks with UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan and exchange views on issues of common concern with
foreign ministers of various countries, Zhang said.
Regarding Iraq, Zhang said that China is still studying the weapons
report submitted by Iraq to the UN.
"The most important thing to remember is that the contents of the
report can only be assessed through on-the-spot checks by the UN
weapons inspectors," Zhang said. "Only on-the-spot checks can yield
a just and objective judgment on the situation in Iraq."
Zhang said that China has provided a list of experts to the UN and
some Chinese experts have participated in nuclear-weapon-related
inspections.
(China Daily January 17, 2003)