China calls for a comprehensive and balanced implementation of the initial actions agreed at the six-party talks in February over the denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations' Vienna Office said on Monday.

 

At the six-party talks on February 13 involving China, Japan, Russia, South and North Korea, and the US, Pyongyang pledged to shut down the Yongbyon reactor within 60 days in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent aid.

 

The initial actions on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue fully reflect the political will of all parties involved -- an early realization of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in a peaceful way, Tang Guoqiang told a special session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

The initial actions play an important role in pushing the nuclear-free process forward, helping the normalization of the relationship between some countries, and safeguarding the peace and stability in northeast Asia, Tang said.

 

Tang said China appreciates the efforts made by the IAEA in achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and welcomes an agreement for the nuclear verification and monitor between IAEA and North Korea.

 

The agreement was signed later last month by North Korea and a then visiting IAEA delegation to verify and monitor the shutdown of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.

 

China expects the IAEA to contribute to the implementation of the initial actions and play a constructive role in solving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the ambassador said.

 

China encourages the international community to pay more concern and support the process of six-party talks in order to further the process of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

 

North Korea on Friday said it will suspend the operation of its nuclear facilities as soon as the aid it has been promised arrives.

 

South Korea said that it will start sending the first shipment of heavy fuel oil to North Korea on Thursday in accordance with the February 13 agreement designed to solve the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2007)