Foreign Ministry to hold strategic talks with DPRK
Updated: 2013-06-18 02:05
By Zhou Wa (China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui and his counterpart of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will hold strategic talks on Wednesday in Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Zhang and Kim Kye-gwan, the DPRK's first deputy foreign minister, will discuss Beijing-Pyongyang ties and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing.
It is rare for the foreign ministries of the two countries to hold strategic talks because contacts between the two ruling parties are more common, observers said.
"The strategic talks make the relations between China and the DPRK less mysterious and indicate that the Beijing-Pyongyang ties are as normal as exchanges between China and other countries," said Wang Junsheng, a researcher on East Asia studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Mutual trust
Both sides believe the talks, which will be held several days before Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye's visit to China, will help enhance mutual trust and remove misgivings between the DPRK and the ROK.
Other groups are also planning to hold discussions this week on Pyongyang's nuclear issue. Six-Party Talks representatives from the US, the ROK and Japan will begin discussions on Tuesday in Washington, the ROK's Yonhap News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will start his visit to China on Tuesday, will also hold exchanges on the situation on the Korean Peninsula with Chinese officials.
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Ban highly commended the recent efforts by China to defuse tension on the peninsula, especially President Xi Jinping's receiving a special envoy from the DPRK.
"I would like to have more in-depth discussions with President Xi Jinping and other leaders on how China can contribute further to the reduction of tension on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Ban said he expects that China will continue to play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in facilitating dialogue between the ROK and the DPRK, "thus, reducing the tension on the Korean Peninsula".
The UN chief added that such efforts will have a positive effect beyond the peninsula and be conducive to peace and harmony in Northeast Asia.
Ban's scheduled visit this week is his sixth to China since he took office as the UN chief in 2007. He is to have exchanges with Chinese netizens through the UN's newly launched WeChat account - a well-known social media platform in China.
- Michelle lays roses at site along Berlin Wall
- Historic space lecture in Tiangong-1 commences
- 'Sopranos' Star James Gandolfini dead at 51
- UN: Number of refugees hits 18-year high
- Slide: Jet exercises from aircraft carrier
- Talks establish fishery hotline
- Foreign buyers eye Chinese drones
- UN chief hails China's peacekeepers
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Pumping up power of consumption |
From China with love and care |
From the classroom to the boardroom |
Schools open overseas campus |
Domestic power of new energy |
Clearing the air |
Today's Top News
Shenzhou X astronaut gives lecture today
US told to reassess duties on Chinese paper
Chinese seek greater share of satellite market
Russia rejects Obama's nuke cut proposal
US immigration bill sees Senate breakthrough
Brazilian cities revoke fare hikes
Moody's warns on China's local govt debt
Air quality in major cities drops in May
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |