US special envoy for DPRK to visit China

BEIJING - US special representative for policy on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Glyn Davies will visit China next Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said here Friday.

Hong confirmed that China and the United States are making arrangements for the visit of Davies, when answering a question about the special envoy's East Asian visit.

Hong added that China has maintained close contacts with those involved in the six-party nuclear talks.

The US State Department said on Thursday that Davies will lead a delegation next week to visit the Republic of Korea (ROK), China and Japan.

According to a State Department statement, Davies will hold meetings with senior officials in each country to discuss policy on the DPRK, including China's special representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei.

The talks between China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Japan and Russia on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula were last held in December 2008.

The DPRK quit the aid-for-denuclearization talks in April 2009 in protest against fresh United Nations sanctions, but it recently expressed its wish to return to the negotiating table.