SEOUL - China will work to revive stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament and to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Feb. 23 during a visit to South Korea.
But Yang, in comments before he began private talks with his counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan, did not mention the North's uranium enrichment program, which has sparked international concern.
China will seek an early resumption of the talks "to realize denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and normalization of relations between related countries", Yang said.
The talks, which group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, have been stalled since December 2008. The North abandoned them in April 2009 and conducted a second nuclear test a month later.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo say Pyongyang should improve inter-Korean ties before the nuclear dialogue can resume.
Yang said China would work with other countries including South Korea "to pursue peace, stability and development" on the peninsula.
His visit was originally scheduled for last November but was postponed after the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island.
China's failure publicly to condemn the North for that attack sparked irritation in Seoul, as did its refusal to identify the North as the culprit in the sinking of a South Korean warship last March.
Minister Kim said some South Koreans "raised concerns about our bilateral relationship" following the two incidents, but that ties had improved.
South Korean officials said earlier they expected the ministers to discuss the North's uranium program.
The nuclear-armed North last November disclosed an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant to visiting U.S. experts, giving it a potential second way of making atomic bombs.
Pyongyang claims the program is for peaceful energy development but experts say it could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium.
Japan and South Korea have urged the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue with a view to possible punishment.
China opposes taking the issue to the world body even though President Hu Jintao has expressed concern at reports of the program.
China has warned its Security Council partners that it intends to block publication of a report on the subject, a diplomat at the United Nations told AFP last week.
The report says the North almost certainly has at least one other undisclosed enrichment-related facility and describes the uranium program as a serious violation of U.N. sanctions.
Beijing insists on the issue being discussed when six-party talks are revived.
President Lee Myung-Bak urged China to play a "constructive role" in resolving the nuclear crisis when he met Yang later, according to the presidential office.
Lee also stressed that a genuine change in North Korea's attitude is necessary for peace on the peninsula, it said.
Yang reportedly reaffirmed Beijing's objections to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development and expressed hope inter-Korean relations would improve.
But Yang, in comments before he began private talks with his counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan, did not mention the North's uranium enrichment program, which has sparked international concern.
China will seek an early resumption of the talks "to realize denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and normalization of relations between related countries", Yang said.
The talks, which group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, have been stalled since December 2008. The North abandoned them in April 2009 and conducted a second nuclear test a month later.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo say Pyongyang should improve inter-Korean ties before the nuclear dialogue can resume.
Yang said China would work with other countries including South Korea "to pursue peace, stability and development" on the peninsula.
His visit was originally scheduled for last November but was postponed after the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island.
China's failure publicly to condemn the North for that attack sparked irritation in Seoul, as did its refusal to identify the North as the culprit in the sinking of a South Korean warship last March.
Minister Kim said some South Koreans "raised concerns about our bilateral relationship" following the two incidents, but that ties had improved.
South Korean officials said earlier they expected the ministers to discuss the North's uranium program.
The nuclear-armed North last November disclosed an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant to visiting U.S. experts, giving it a potential second way of making atomic bombs.
Pyongyang claims the program is for peaceful energy development but experts say it could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium.
Japan and South Korea have urged the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue with a view to possible punishment.
China opposes taking the issue to the world body even though President Hu Jintao has expressed concern at reports of the program.
China has warned its Security Council partners that it intends to block publication of a report on the subject, a diplomat at the United Nations told AFP last week.
The report says the North almost certainly has at least one other undisclosed enrichment-related facility and describes the uranium program as a serious violation of U.N. sanctions.
Beijing insists on the issue being discussed when six-party talks are revived.
President Lee Myung-Bak urged China to play a "constructive role" in resolving the nuclear crisis when he met Yang later, according to the presidential office.
Lee also stressed that a genuine change in North Korea's attitude is necessary for peace on the peninsula, it said.
Yang reportedly reaffirmed Beijing's objections to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development and expressed hope inter-Korean relations would improve.
