Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu confirmed at the routine press conference Thursday that officials of the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are visiting China at the same time.
Answering related questions, Jiang briefed the media on the visit of DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il and U.S. Special Representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Stephen Bosworth.
She confirmed that Kim is paying a visit to China: "He is in Jiangsu Province now and he will return to Beijing. The visit will last until the end of this week."
According to Jiang, Kim has met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and exchanged views on issues of common concern.
On Bosworth's visit, Jiang said he will pay a visit to China on Thursday and Friday, during which Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei will hold meetings with him respectively on the Korean nuclear issue and six-party talks.
Jiang said China is willing to work with related parties to push for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
According to U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly Wednesday Bosworth will visit Beijing before traveling to Seoul on Friday and Tokyo on Sunday. The DPRK is not on his travel agenda.
"He will reaffirm our commitment to the September 2005 Joint Statement and the six-party process. He will discuss the role of bilateral talks with North Korea within the context of the six- party process," Kelly said.
In the Sept. 19, 2005 Joint Statement, the six parties to the talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue -- the DPRK, the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Russia -- unanimously reaffirmed the goal of a verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.
However, the DPRK quit the six-party nuclear disarmament talks in April and conducted its second nuclear test in May.
(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2009)
