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| Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a media availability with Secretary of State John Kerry (not in photograph) at the State Department in Washington, Feb 23, 2016. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh) |
WASHINGTON - Important progress has been made in talks on a UN resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and it is expected to be adopted in the coming days, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Tuesday.
Once the resolution is implemented, it will effectively curb DPRK's nuclear program, Wang said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
"We do not accept the DPRK's nuclear missile program and we do not recognize the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state," Wang said.
The top Chinese diplomat also emphasized that the resolution itself can not fundamentally solve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
"To solve the peninsular nuclear issue, we need to return to dialogues and negotiations," he said.
China's foreign minister also said the resolution itself cannot fundamentally solve the Korean nuclear issue. "To really do that, we need to return to the track of dialogue and negotiation," Wang said.
Wang's viewpoint was echoed by Kerry, who said that the goal of the resolution is not to be "in a series of cycling, repetitive punishments."
Wang also put forward the proposal of pursuing a parallel track: the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the replacement of the Korean armistice with a peace agreement.
"China sees the parallel track approach as a reasonable one," Wang said, adding that it highlights the overriding goal of denuclearizing the peninsula while seeking to address the major concerns of the various parties.
China would like to have further discussions about the parallel track with the interested parties, including the specific steps that may lead to a resumption of dialogue, he said.
