CHINA / National

Resumption of six-party talks urged
(AP/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-07-16 14:04

China appealed Sunday for renewed six-nation North Korean disarmament talks following a U.N. decision to sanction the North for its missile tests.

"We hope all parties concerned will take this as a turning point and make joint efforts to resume six-nation talks as early as possible," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement on the ministry Web site.

China joined U.N. Security Council members on Saturday in unanimously approving the resolution, which demands that North Korea suspend its ballistic missile program.

China is making tremendous efforts in a bid to ease the tension. Vice Premier Hui Liangyu was heading a delegation on an official goodwill visit to the DPRK. The envoys returned Saturday after reportedly receiving a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. If it addresses the missile tests, the message would be Kim's first comment on the July 5 launches that caused an international uproar.

North Korea has been boycotting the six-nation talks organized by China on its nuclear ambitions, demanding that Washington lift sanctions imposed to punish North Korean companies accused of weapons proliferation and other offenses.

 
 

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