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Six-Party Talks only way to fix Korean nuke issue

By Cheng Guangjin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-23 07:40

BEIJING - The Six-Party Talks process is the only way to resolve major issues on the Korean Peninsula, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday in Tokyo.

"We are happy to see that, at present, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is easing slightly and that the parties involved have increased interaction," Wen said at a joint news conference after the annual summit between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

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"We've also noticed that there are still a lot of uncertain factors. The foundation for dialogue is still fragile.

"What's most important for now is to maintain the momentum for talks and promote among all parties involved the resumption and continuation of talks."

China has been actively promoting peaceful talks and playing an important role in protecting regional peace and realizing denuclearization of the peninsula.

According to China News Service, Wen told reporters that leaders of the three countries had sincere and deep-going talks about the situation on the Korean Peninsula during their trilateral meeting and agreed "it is in our common interest to safeguard peace and stability and realize the denuclearization of the peninsula".

The Six-Party Talks began in 2003 with China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan searching for ways in which Pyongyang would end its nuclear program in return for massive aid.

Pyongyang unilaterally left the talks in 2009 in protest at fresh United Nations sanctions put in place after it conducted missile tests. The DPRK has since expressed a desire to return to the negotiating table.

According to Reuters, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan stressed at the news conference that Pyongyang must show sincerity in addressing concerns about its uranium enrichment activities before talks can resume.

Kan said the three leaders agreed that some of the impetus rests with Pyongyang for making sure the talks happen.

Earlier this month, the ROK's foreign ministry said its military confrontation with the DPRK, if not addressed, would adversely affect the prospects for opening nuclear disarmament talks, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The ROK foreign ministry required the DPRK to demonstrate there had been a meaningful change in its behavior and indicate its commitment to denuclearization. The ROK's foreign ministry added that the way Pyongyang responds in the aftermath of the sinking of an ROK warship and the shelling of a western border island in 2010 will also affect the resumption of talks.

Yang Bojiang, a professor at China's University of International Relations, said, due to the complex nature of the issues on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, the Six-Party Talks have been a "hard-won platform on which the related parties can talk to each other".