The Hindu : International : China not for force against North Korea

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Friday, Oct 13, 2006
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International

China not for force against North Korea

BEIJING: China on Thursday said it opposed any military action to deal with the Korean peninsula situation, following the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

``China opposes any military action to resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular press briefing.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK conducted an underground nuclear test on Monday.

``The DPRK should refrain from any action that may aggravate the Korean peninsula situation,'' Mr. Liu said, urging that country to return to the six-party talks.

``We believe that the denuclearisation and the maintaining of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula best serves the interests of all parties,'' the spokesman said.

Mr. Liu said China is consulting other parties and hopes the consultation will be conducive to furthering the diplomatic efforts. The members of the United Nations Security Council have been discussing a draft resolution circulated by the United States, calling for punitive sanctions against the DPRK.

``Any action, any decision, any resolution, must be conducive to resolving the issue peacefully,'' Mr. Liu said.

The talks on the Korean nuclear issue have remained stalled since the last round of meeting was held in Beijing last November.

The last round of talks, involving China, DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, ended up with a chairman's statement without any concrete results. — Xinhua

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