Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to China Kim Ha Joong
hopes that countries to the six-party
talks will continue to hold "serious and positive" attitude for
consultation and strive for consensus on a common document, said
Kim in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Beijing Sunday.
The second phase of the fourth round of six-party talks on the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is to resume on Sept. 13.
He said major difference still remains among relevant countries
to the nuclear talks, expressing his hope that countries concerned
will demonstrate their willingness to positively settle the
problem, and conduct "active and pragmatic" discussion for
realizing a common document.
Kim said that during the first phase meeting, countries once
again reaffirmed the goal of denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula. Meanwhile, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) also indicated its will to abandon nuclear weapons program.
Other countries expressed their willingness to provide
corresponding compensation measures for DPRK.
"What's most important, the fourth draft of a common document
China proposed during the first phase meeting has covered matters
concerned by all relevant countries," he said, expressing his
appreciation for the draft.
The ambassador spoke highly of China's efforts and "constructive
role" in promoting concrete progress of the talks. He hopes ROK and
China will continue to keep close cooperation in the forthcoming
second phase.
As to China-ROK relations, the 58-year-old ambassador said that
since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have
achieved lots of progress in political, economic and cultural
cooperation as well as personnel exchanges.
Statistics shows the bilateral trade volume increased by 17
times compared with 13 years ago, that is from US$5 billion in 1992
to US$90 billion in 2004.
China has become ROK's largest trading partner and its biggest
exporting market, Kim said. By June, 2005, China had actually used
ROK investment of 29 billion dollars.
He said the two countries share the same cultural backgrounds
and have no political conflicts, which is the reason for the rapid
growth of bilateral ties.
In a bid to promote peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,
China and ROK always kept close contacts on the six-party talks, he
added.
Concerning China's peaceful development, Kim said it is a
natural result of China's rapid economic growth.
He believes China's development will contribute to the common
prosperity of countries in the region and hopes the two countries
in the future will expand exchanges between governments and
non-governmental circles so as to push ROK-China relations up to a
new high.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2005)