Nations hope to resume Six-Party Talks

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has expressed hopes of restarting the Six-Party Talks, following respective meetings held in Beijing and Washington.

In Beijing, Chinese Vice- Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and DPRK's First Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan cochaired a strategic dialogue meeting between their ministries on Wednesday.

Zhang, who was China's ambassador to the United States until three months ago, told Kim that China attaches great importance to its ties with the DPRK and hopes to work with it for long-term and healthy development of relations between the two countries.

"It is in the interests of all parties to realize the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and to resolve the issue through political dialogues," Zhang said, adding that China supports talks among relevant parties and hopes for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks.

The stalled talks involve China, the United States, DPRK, Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia.

Kim said the DPRK values the traditional friendship with China and would like to work with China to develop cooperative ties.

He said the DPRK would like to hold talks with relevant parties, and attend any forms of meetings, including the Six-Party Talks, and to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully through negotiations.

Kim also met Wu Dawei, China's special envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs.

In Washington, meanwhile, Glyn Davies, US special representative for the DPRK policy, held talks on Wednesday with ROK's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Cho Tae-yong and Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama, after having bilateral talks on Tuesday.

The State Department said in a statement after the meeting that their discussions reflect the ongoing close cooperation between the three countries.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks, including its core goal of the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner," the statement said.

It said the three countries also reaffirmed their commitment to the UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK and the need for full and transparent implementation of those resolutions.

The three nations agreed a path is open for the DPRK toward improved relations with the US, Japan and the ROK if the DPRK takes meaningful steps on denuclearization. "We will judge the DPRK by its actions, not its words," it said.

"We also look forward to continuing to engage with China, Russia and other key partners on the DPRK," the statement said. Observers said that through communication with China, the DPRK hopes to find ways to rebuild trust with other countries after realizing its strong rhetoric in the past six months cannot save it from deep-rooted isolation by the international community.

Contact the writers at zhouwa@chinadaily.com.cn and chenweihua@chinadailyusa. com

(China Daily USA 06/20/2013 page7)