President Hu Jintao's special envoy, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with North Korea's leader Kim
Jong-il, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao announced at
yesterday's regular press conference.
Tang, who arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, conveyed Hu's
message to Kim during the meeting, Liu said, without revealing the
content of the message. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of
views on China-North Korea relations and the current situation on
the Korean Peninsula.
"The meeting was of great significance and was extremely
important for bilateral ties and the current situation on the
peninsula," Liu told reporters.
Prior to his arrival in North Korea, Tang also visited the US
and Russia, meeting with US President George W. Bush and Russian
President Vladimir Putin respectively.
Tang, who left Beijing on October 11, was accompanied by Dai
Bingguo, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Wu Dawei, vice
foreign minister.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA),
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on October 9.
The UN Security Council on October 14 unanimously adopted a
resolution imposing sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear
test. Liu said the resolution was a "balanced" one and all parties
should enforce it in a "balanced way" without expanding sanctions
at will.
"The resolution should be carried out in a practical and careful
manner to send a message to North Korea that the nuclear test is a
wrongful action that is opposed by the international community and
that North Korea should return to the six-party talks as soon as possible," Liu
said.
He added that the important task at hand was to promote the
early resumption of the talks that involve China, Russia, the US,
Japan, and North and South Korea.
Liu noted that as a member state of the UN and a permanent
member of the UN Security Council, China will take all necessary
measures and adopt a suitable mechanism to strictly carry out the
commitments set out in the resolution. He added that China would
not do anything to contravene the resolution.
Responding to reports that claimed the six-party talks process
is likely to end following the nuclear test, Liu said China was
still "full of hope" that the talks could be resumed.
"As all parties consider the six-party talks to be an effective
way to resolve the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue and are willing
to return to the talks under the right conditions, the six-party
talks have not ended," Liu said, adding that China has been making
unremitting efforts for their resumption.
Liu called on all related parties to avoid steps that would
further worsen the chances of resuming the talks.
Responding to reports that claimed China would offer food and
energy aid to North Korea, Liu said China has been offering aid to
North Korea for many years to improve the lives of North Korean
people and help the country overcome economic difficulties.
"We think this is the correct policy, which helps improve the
humanitarian situation in North Korea," Liu explained.
He also denied any connection between illegal immigration from
North Korea to China and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, saying
that China and North Korea have taken joint measures to tackle the
problem.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Beijing this
morning to discuss the Korean Peninsular situation with Chinese
leaders.
Liu said China hoped to have in-depth discussions with Rice on
how to resolve the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and
promote the realization of a nuclear-free peninsula through
dialogue and negotiations.
Moving on to state visits, at the invitation of Tang Jiaxuan,
British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will pay a working
visit to China from October 26 to 27. Further, Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing has extended an invitation to Swiss Vice President of the
Confederation and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who will
pay an official visit to China from October 27 to 30. ?Also,
Argentine Vice President Daniel Osvaldo Scioli will be in China
from October 25 to 28 at the invitation of Vice President Zeng Qinghong.
(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2006)