Premier Wen Jiabao said China hopes the Korean Peninsula will be free of nuclear weapons and peace and stability will be maintained there.  

During an interview given to Leonard Downie, executive editor of The Washington Post, at Zhongnanhai in Beijing Friday, Wen said there has been some progress in the process of dialogue on the nuclear issue.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has stated that it does not seek to possess nuclear weapons and that denuclearization is its ultimate goal. Recently, it has also said that under the prerequisite that its security concerns are met and the United States abandons its hostile policy toward the DPRK, the DPRK is prepared to give up its nuclear program.

The Bush administration has repeatedly said that the United States has no intention to invade or change the regime of the DPRK, and that it wants to resolve the nuclear issue through peaceful negotiations.

"So in my view, the positions of the two sides are now closer than before," said the Chinese premier.

He said the best way is to continue with the Beijing six-party talks so that all parties concerned can sit together to have discussions on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual trust.

"Through such consultations they can, in the end, work out a solution that is acceptable to all parties concerned and that is helpful for the peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2003)