Wen calls for patience to ease tensions on peninsula

BEIJING - Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday urged all sides concerned to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula with wisdom, patience and goodwill.

Wen made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Lee Myung-bak held in Beijing.

At a joint press conference after the summit, Wen said the three leaders gave great attention to the situation in Northeast Asia.

Peace and stability of Northeast Asia not only involve the interests of all the nations in the region, but also work as a foremost precondition for sustainable development and prosperity there, Wen said.

China, Japan and the ROK, as major nations in Northeast Asia, have incumbent responsibility in the region, according to the Chinese premier.

"We should absolutely get rid of the Cold War mentality and work hard to address relative issues through dialogue and negotiations, keeping in mind the legitimate security concern of all sides," he said.

"What is the most urgent (for us) is to make all-out efforts to prevent the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula," he added.

"All the sides should give full play to their wisdom, keep patient and display their goodwill to alleviate conflict, and return to the right track of dialogue and negotiations," Wen said, calling for continued efforts for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party Talks.

The Six-Party Talks, which involve the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the ROK, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, were launched in 2003, but stalled in December 2008. The DPRK quit the talks in April 2009.