China on Tuesday said it will continue to play an "important and
constructive" role in the peace process on the Korean
Peninsula.
"Establishing a peaceful mechanism on the peninsula meets the
interests of Korean people and is also conducive to peace,
stability and development on the peninsula," said Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao at a regular news briefing.
"China, as an important nation in northeast Asia and also a
contracting party to an armistice agreement of the Korean War, will
go on playing an active role in the process," Liu said.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the
Republic of Korea (ROK) are still technically at war as the 1950-53
Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
The ROK President Roh Moo-hyun traveled to the DPRK's capital of
Pyongyang on Oct. 2 for an inter-Korean summit, after which Roh and
the DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il signed a joint declaration,
reaffirming their commitment to promoting peace on the
peninsula.
The two sides also agreed to work together to advance the matter
of having the leaders of the three or four parties directly
concerned to convene on the Peninsula and declare an end to the
war, according to the declaration.
Relevant parties just proposed the three or four parties summit,
which still calls for further detailed consultations through
diplomatic channels, Liu said.
The first step of the peace process is the denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula, which tops the current agenda of the
six-party talks on the nuclear issue, according to the
spokesman.
"China will surely play an important and constructive role in
the issues concerning peace and stability on Korean Peninsula and
northeast Asia," Liu said.
Liu also called on parties involved in the six-party talks to
implement the joint document yielded in their latest discussion in
a "comprehensive" and "balanced" manner.
"The joint document is a very important document for the
six-party talks process," he said at a routine press conference,
noting that China appreciates the efforts generated by the involved
parties to promote the talks process.
He told reporters that the relevant implementation work was
underway and confirmed that the United States would send an expert
group to the DPRK to carry out work related to the disablement of
the nuclear facilities.
The second phase of the sixth round of six-party talks ended
last Wednesday in Beijing with the release of a joint document on
the second phase of action towards the denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula.
In the joint document, the DPRK agreed to disable its existing
nuclear facilities and provide a declaration of all its nuclear
programs by the end of this year.
The document also said the DPRK and the United States remain
committed to improving their bilateral relations and moving towards
a full diplomatic relationship.
The work on the next phase of the six-party talks "will be
decided through consultation among the involved parties", Liu said,
noting that the involved parties already demonstrated their sense
of responsibility, flexibility and sincerity based on which China
hopes to continue to promote the talks as well as the
denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula.
The six-party talks involve China, the United States, the DPRK,
South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Sanctions against Myanmar opposed
Liu Jianchao said that China "resolutely opposed" sanctions
against Myanmar as they would not help resolve the country's
problems. "Any move by the United Nations Security Council should
be prudent and responsible and be conducive to the mediation
efforts of the UN secretary-general, and conducive to achieving
stability, reconciliation, democracy and the development of
Myanmar."
He said that China had noticed the situation in Myanmar was
returning to calm and attributed it to the common efforts of the
international community and all sides.
He said China hoped the situation would move in a positive
direction.
"China hopes all relevant sides of Myanmar will maintain
restraint and achieve reconciliation, democracy and development and
improve the living standards of the people by peaceful means," he
said.
He also said China praised the recent visit to Myanmar by
Ibrahim Gambari, special advisor on Myanmar of the United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, adding China had taken an active
part in the discussion in the UN on the Myanmar issue. Gambari, who
just ended a four-day mission to Myanmar, exchanged views with
Myanmar leaders on the domestic situation and made widespread
contacts with local people.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2007)
