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China urges neighbors, US to talk to DPRK

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-10 15:55

China's Premier Wen Jiabao (C) answers a question next to President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during a news conference after a trilateral summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 10, 2009. [Agencies]

HEAVILY HEDGED

This week, the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-il offered visiting Chinese Premier Wen a heavily hedged statement that his government could return to multilateral negotiations, possibly the six-party talks, provided it first saw satisfactory progress in any two-way talks with the United States.

"We support the United States and the DPRK holding conscientious and constructive dialogue," Wen said on Saturday. "We also support enhanced contacts between the DPRK and both Japan and the ROK."

Washington has said it is open to talks with Pyongyang as long as that leads to a resumption of the six-party negotiations.

A senior DPRK nuclear envoy, Ri Gun, plans to visit the United States later this month, opening the way to possible two-way talks, a ROK broadcaster said on Friday.

After Wen spoke, ROK President Lee and Japan's Hatoyama also said they were open to engaging DPRK, but both sounded a cautious note and stressed that any two-way talks had to be just a warm-up for the six-party negotiations.

The three also highlighted hopes for deeper regional economic cooperation. They will oppose trade protectionism, and seek progress in the Doha round of trade talks, they said.

The ROK's Lee proposed a permanent office to examine better cooperation among the three, an idea Hatoyama endorsed.

China is now Japan's biggest trading partner, and the second largest export destination after the United States. ROK, meanwhile, was Japan's third-biggest export market in 2008.

Hatoyama took office on Sept. 16 after his Democratic Party trounced the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party, and had said he wanted better relations with Beijing.

Those ties have long been strained by distrust over history, sea boundary disputes and worries over China's growing military and political clout.