A group of Chinese, Russian, and American experts flew to
Pyongyang yesterday to discuss disabling nuclear facilities in
North Korea, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday
at a regular press conference.
The group, seven from the US and one each from China and Russia,
was invited by the North Korean government and is likely to inspect
five nuclear facilities in five days, she said. The visit will help
develop specific measures for the next phase of denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula, analysts said.
North Korea will disable its nuclear facilities in exchange for
1 million tons of heavy fuel oil, according to an agreement reached
at the six-party talks on February 13. The talks
involve South and North Korea, the US, Russia, Japan, and
China.
A specific date for the resumption of the second of the
six-round six-party talks has yet to be decided, though China is
working to coordinate a time with the attending countries, Jiang
said.
Last week, US President George W. Bush offered a peace treaty to
North Korea as an "incentive" for giving up its nuclear
program.
Dalai Lama visits Portugal
In reference to a question on the Dalai Lama's visit to
Portugal, Jiang said China firmly opposes any country allowing the
Dalai Lama to conduct secessionist activities within its
territory.
The Dalai Lama's words and actions over the past decades show he
is not a purely religious figure, she said. He is a long-time
political exile engaged in activities to split the country. "He
represents a secessionist force that preaches Tibetan
independence."
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Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif deported
The deportation of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,
Jiang said, is Pakistan's internal matter. "We believe the
Pakistani government can continue to safeguard social stability and
maintain its economic growth," she said.
Sharif was deported to Saudi Arabia after his return to Pakistan
on Monday.
Sharif, twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, served two
non-consecutive terms. He was arrested and sentenced to life
imprisonment in 2000 on charges of hijacking and terrorism after
General Pervez Musharraf staged a bloodless coup in the country.
The Pakistani government agreed to commute his sentence from life
in prison to exile in Saudi Arabia for ten years.
Cooperatively fighting cyber crime
The government is willing to cooperate with other countries to
combat cyber crime, Jiang said, reacting to a report published last
weekend in Paris-based Le Monde newspaper, which said
Chinese hackers had stolen data from French information
systems.
"Hacking is an international problem, which has also affected
China," Jiang said. "The government has always opposed and strictly
forbidden any cyber crimes, including hacking."
The newspaper quoted Francis Delon, France's secretary-general
of National Defense, on the allegation. But Delon did not link the
incident with the Chinese government or the military in a later
interview with AFP news agency.
No valid proof of any allegations has been provided so far.
"Up to last week, the authorities concerned had not received any
requests (from other countries) for joint investigation (on alleged
hacking incidents)," Jiang said.
Search for missing Russian tourists
Six Russian tourists failed to meet their Chinese interpreter in
Hotan as scheduled on September 2 after they began canoeing on the
Yurungkax River in mid-August.
Jiang said, "China has closely watched the issue and will work
with the Russian experts to find the missing people."
Around 1,100 Chinese armed police, herdsmen, and farmers have
been mobilized to search for them, but so far they have found no
trace.
On Tuesday, a Chinese military helicopter with 12 rescuers
aboard carried out a four-hour search but failed to locate the
missing Russians after it flew about 500 km from the upper reaches
to the lower reaches of the river, where they are believed to have
gone missing.
A Russian cargo-transport plane arrived in northwest
China's
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region?on
Tuesday evening to join the search.
The IL-76 cargo plane carried 40 Russian search and rescue crew,
three Chinese experts, a light rescue helicopter, an off-road
vehicle, and other equipment.
The six Russians were identified as Vladimir Smetannikov, Sergey
Chernik, Andrey Pautov, Dmitry Tishchenko, Ivan Chernik, and
Alexander Zverev, with the youngest aged 25 and the oldest 47.
Serbian FM to visit
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will pay an official visit
to China from September 12 to 14 at the invitation of Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi, Jiang announced.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency September 12,
2007)
