China's foreign minister met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday.
Wang Yi said China welcomes the success of last week's inter-Korean summit and Beijing wants to strengthen cooperation with Pyongyang "in every aspect."
Is China moving to increase its role amid the political turnaround on the Korean Peninsula?
Oh Jung-hee has more.
China hopes to strengthen communication and cooperation with North Korea in every aspect of resolving the issues on the Korean Peninsula.
That's what Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday.
Congratulating him on the success of last week's inter-Korean summit, Wang said... the summit has brought opportunities for a political solution on the Peninsula.
He added that China backs the two Koreas' transition from an armistice agreement to a peace treaty.
He also said that China welcomes North Korea's policy shift toward economic development, and that Beijing backs Pyongyang's attempts to resolve its security concerns... and wants to strengthen communication and cooperation with the North.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un responded that Pyongyang will strengthen strategic communication with Beijing.
Saying that achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula is North Korea's firm will,... Kim said that meaningful changes have been taking place... and they'll help peacefully solve issues on the Korean Peninsula.
He emphasized that Pyongyang hopes to build mutual trust through dialogue to eliminate the root cause of conflict.
This is the first visit to Pyongyang by a Chinese foreign minister in 11 years.
China is seen as trying to solidify its position in negotiations regarding the Korean Peninsula... as last Friday's Panmunjom Declaration left open the possibility of China's exclusion from future talks.
The agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang stipulated... that ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula could be discussed either trilaterally with the U.S. OR through four-way talks with the U.S. and China.
Wang had met with North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho on Wednesday... and stressed that China will continue to play a (quote) "positive role" in resolving issues on the Korean peninsula.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
