Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Friday called for dialogue and contacts to peacefully resolve the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) resumption of its nuclear program.
China hoped the concerned parties would comply with their duties under the 1994 Agreed Framework reached in Geneva between the United States and the DPRK in a bid to maintain the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.
The spokesman made the remarks when asked to comment on DPRK's Thursday announcement that it would resume the operation and construction of its nuclear facilities to generate electricity in response to the US decision to suspend supplies of heavy oil to the DPRK.
"We have noticed relevant reports," Liu said, stressing that China's stance on the DPRK nuclear issue was "consistent".
China had always favored denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and has been dedicated to peace and stability on peninsula and upheld that the issue should be resolved through dialogue, he added.
On Thursday, a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman said the DPRK would immediately resume the operation and construction of its nuclear facilities to generate electricity, adding that "whether the DPRK refreezes its nuclear facilities or not hinges upon the United States".
On November 14, the United States made a decision to suspend supplies of heavy oil to the DPRK, claiming that the DPRK had been developing a secret nuclear program in violation of the 1994 Agreed Framework.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2002)
