China and Russia called to prevent further escalation of the nuclear issue in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Wenchang on Tuesday afternoon met with Russian presidential envoy Alexander Losiukov, who just returned via Beijing mid-Tuesday from a trip to DPRK.
Losiukov briefed Yang on his four-day visit to DPRK. "Both sides believe the problem should be resolved peacefully and by dialogue," according to a source with Chinese Foreign Ministry.
On his way to Pyongyang last Saturday, Losiukov made a stopover in Beijing and had talks with Yang.
He returned Beijing also as a stopover and is scheduled to leave for Moscow Wednesday.
Before leaving Pyongyang, Losiukov told Xinhua that his four-day visit to the DPRK was "conducive" and "constructive," but declined to give further details about his meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong II.
Losiukov, who had delivered a personal letter by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kim, was reported to hand a three-point "package proposal" to the DPRK, including the nuclear-free status on the Korean Peninsula, security guarantee for the DPRK and resumption of humanitarian assistance and economic aid to the DPRK.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2003)
