State Councilor Tang
Jiaxuan, special envoy for President Hu
Jintao, arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday to pave the way for a new
round of six-party
talks on nuclear disarmament.?
He met with Pak Bong-ju, premier of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to discuss bilateral relations
and other important issues of common concern.
The three-day visit comes ahead of the expected
resumption of six-party talks and days after US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice concluded a 20-hour visit to Beijing on
Sunday.
Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao confirmed yesterday that the
resumption of negotiations on the DPRK's nuclear development
program would be high on Tang's agenda. He said China, host of the
six-party talks, has begun arrangements for the meeting, and
although no exact date has been set, the negotiations are expected
to take place during the week beginning July 25.
He said China would like to see the fourth round of
talks produce "practical results."
"On the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, no matter
how complicated, we are confident that dialogue and diplomacy can
solve the problem," he said.
Negotiations between China, the DPRK, US, South
Korea, Russia and Japan began in August 2003 but have been stalled
for a year after the third round in June 2004, when the DPRK
accused the US of hostility.
After talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka
Machimura yesterday, Rice told a press conference, "We are both
hopeful the talks will be successful.... But what we really need is
a strategic decision on the part of the North (the DPRK) that they
are indeed ready to give up their nuclear weapons, because without
that, the talks cannot be successful."
Machimura said it was important for the DPRK to
participate in the fresh round of talks in a "serious and
constructive manner."
Japan, South Korea and the US will hold a
high-level meeting later this week in Seoul to discuss coordination
on issues concerning the DPRK. The three countries have previously
held similar strategic talks when there were significant
developments concerning the peninsula's nuclear issue.
(China Daily July 13, 2005)