China's Xi opposed to N. Korea's nuclear weapons development: S. Korean envoy

China's next President Xi Jinping expressed his opposition to North Korea developing nuclear weapons and any other weapons of mass destruction, a South Korean special envoy said Wednesday.

The remark, made in a meeting with a South Korean delegation sent by President-elect Park Geun-hye, came as Pyongyang hinted at the possibility of carrying out a nuclear test after the U.N. Security Council adopted a new resolution condemning the country's Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch.

Kim Moo-sung, head of the delegation in his capacity as a special envoy, said his team told Xi that South Korea's next government will continue humanitarian aid to the North while leaving open the window for dialogue and cooperation, though it will respond sternly to any North Korean provocations.

Xi welcomed the position, Kim said. 

Kim said his delegation delivered a personal letter from Park to Xi. In the letter, Park expressed her hope for further strengthening friendship and relations between the two countries, Kim said.

The four-member delegation has been in Beijing since Monday.

They met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and plan to return home on Thursday.

China is the only major ally of North Korea and has provided the impoverished nation with economic aid and diplomatic protection. A permanent Security Council member, Beijing also joined in adopting the new U.N. resolution on Pyongyang. (Yonhap News)