China to continue mediation for new round of six-party talks

China will continue to mediate the new round of six-party talks, and hopes the relevant sides, especially the major parties, would show flexibility and sincerity to resume the talks at an early date.

Qin Gang, a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry made the remarks at a regular press conference Thursday.

He said with the purpose of safeguarding peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, China has advocated the nuclear issue in the area should be resolved through dialogue, and meanwhile, the reasonable security concern of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea should be paid attention to.

"The six-party talks are the practical and effective way to resolve the Korean nuclear issue," he said.

The spokesman said China has made efforts to resume the new round of talks, indicating that Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited the DPRK after it issued a statement, saying it would suspend participation of the six-party talks indefinitely.

Wang took a message from Chinese President Hu Jintao to the DPRK, which said that its stance remained unchanged to seek a nuclear-weapons free Korean Peninsula and to solve the nuclear issue through dialogue, said Qin Gang.

During the China visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, China persuaded the U.S. to create favorable condition to resume the new round of talks, and during the visit by the DPRK Premier Pak Bong Ju, China urged the DPRK to come back to talks, according to the spokesman.

The DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju visited China this April and had an in-depth exchange of views with the Chinese side, he said.

"As a complicated issue, the Korean nuclear issue should be solved at the negotiating table after all, and other choices don't help the settlement of the issue, and are not conducive to regional stability either," Qin said.

The six-party talks involve China, the DPRK, the U.S., the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, and have been held three times.