On Thursday, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China hoped to clarify historical issues with Japan through the recently proposed joint study panel.

"The most important thing for launching the panel is to help keep the past firmly in mind, cherish peace and work together to create the future," Kong Quan told a regular press conference.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura agreed on May 7 in Kyoto, Japan, to set up a panel to study issues of history, and both sides will name members of the panel by the end of the year, media reports said.

Kong announced that Vice Premier Wu Yi will attend the China Day of the Aichi Expo 2005 during a visit from May 17 to 24 at the invitation of the Japanese government. Wu will then visit Mongolia from May 24 to 26.

Turning to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Kong said China welcomes the "positive messages" sent by Washington and Pyongyang over resuming six-party talks, urging them to release more such messages to create a good atmosphere for them.

"Recent remarks from the two sides contain positive messages worth our attention and we welcome them," Kong said, adding that the messages are important to resume the talks scheduled to be held last September but suspended because of mistrust between the US and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

US acting State Department spokesperson Tom Casey said at a news briefing in Washington on Tuesday, "The New York channel obviously exists and remains open, and we'll use it when we deem it appropriate, as we have in the past." DPRK and US officials met twice at the end of last year at the UN headquarters in New York.

Casey made the remarks after the DPRK Foreign Ministry said last Sunday that Pyongyang has no intention of holding bilateral talks separate from the framework of the six-party talks. But Pyongyang did not deny the possibility of holding bilateral talks within the framework on condition that the US recognizes the DPRK as a sovereign state.

"We expect the messages could enhance understanding and dissolve some hostility," Kong said.

He said that six-party talks are the only and correct way to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue, urging relevant parties to stick to the talks and give the US and DPRK more support to bring them back to them.

Moving on to UN reforms, Kong said China believes they should resolve the common concerns of most member countries.

The government has urged for the reforms to be well rounded and not to cater only to the interests of several dominant countries.

Kong noted that debate on UN reforms is wide ranging. China believes that their aim should be improving efficiency and increasing the decision-making power of developing countries.

(Xinhua News Agency, CRI.com May 13, 2005)