China hoped that all participants in the six-party talks would
implement the second phase action plan on resolving the nuclear
issue of the Korean Peninsula in an all-round and balanced manner,
said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang on Thursday.
Qin made the remarks at a regular press conference on Thursday
afternoon when asked to comment on the DPRK (Democratic People's
Republic of Korea)'s declaration of its nuclear programs and the
possible recipient country of DPRK's nuclear materials.
Qin said the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in the DPRK have
been shut down and were being decommissioned, adding that most
decommissioning work would be completed by the end of this
year.
Qin said that under a joint document adopted by the six parties
to the multilateral talks, the United States would take the lead in
the decommissioning work under the principles of being acceptable
to all parties, scientific, safe, verifiable, and consistent with
international standards.
When asked whether the Chinese and Japanese leaders would
discuss the six-party talks process, Qin said he believed that the
leaders of China and Japan -- which are parties to the process --
would exchange views on the talks and on the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue.
Qin said that China and Japan have maintained close
communication and cooperation in the six-party talks process and he
hoped such cooperation could be maintained and strengthened.
Qin noted that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the
normalization of ties between relevant nations, and the peace and
stability of the peninsula and those of the northeast Asia at large
are the agreed consensus of and in the common interest of all the
six parties.
China hoped all parties could strengthen communication,
coordination and cooperation, stick to the action-to-action
principle and remain committed to keeping and pushing forward the
momentum of the six-party talks so as to realize the goals set at
the six-party talks.
According to a six-party talks joint document released in
Beijing on Oct. 3, the DPRK agreed to disable all its existing
nuclear facilities and provide a complete and correct declaration
of all its nuclear programs by the end of this year.
The document said the decommissioning of the 5 megawatt
Experimental Reactor, the Reprocessing Plant (Radiochemical
Laboratory) and the Nuclear Fuel Rod Fabrication Facility in
Yongbyon would be completed by Dec. 31.
The six-party talks, initiated in 2003 and aimed at resolving
the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, involve China, the DPRK, the
United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
