Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in Tokyo yesterday that China
hopes the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea will be solved peacefully through the envisioned six-party
talks.
Li was meeting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
The Chinese foreign minister said he welcomed Japan playing a
"constructive role" in efforts to deal with the nuclear issue.
Koizumi and Kawaguchi praised China's efforts to realize the
six-party talks on the issue involving China, the DPRK, Japan, the
Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
The talks are expected to be held in Beijing at the end of this
month but the timing and venue have yet to be formally
announced.
During his four-day visit to Japan to mark the 25th anniversary
of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Li stressed
that China and Japan should always adhere to the treaty's
principles.
Li spoke highly of the determination of the Japanese Government,
especially Koizumi, to adhere to the peaceful principles and spirit
of the treaty to promote Sino-Japanese relations.
Koizumi reiterated Japan will continue to adhere to the
principle of taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the
future.
China's development is a chance for Japan, not a threat, Koizumi
said. Japan is to make further efforts to boost bilateral ties for
mutual benefit, he said.
In another development in Beijing, China's Vice-Foreign Minister
Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Alexander Losyukov held
in-depth discussions on the issue and agreed to work for a
diplomatic solution.
Both sides said they hoped the six parties would strengthen
dialogue and mutual understanding to reduce differences and make
concerted efforts to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean
Peninsula.
The prospect of fresh negotiations comes after April's Beijing
talks, when Washington and Pyongyang held talks under Chinese
auspices in an effort to move forward on the nuclear stand-off that
erupted last October when the United States said Pyongyang had
admitted to reviving a nuclear arms program.
(China Daily August 12, 2003)
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