A senior Chinese military official renewed his country's "clear-cut" goal of ending North Korea's nuclear program through dialogue during a meeting with South Korean defense officials last week, China's defense ministry said Tuesday.
Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, made the remark on Friday when he met a delegation of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, which is affiliated with South Korea's defense ministry, in Beijing.
"China's stand on the issue of peninsula security is consistent and clear-cut," Sun said, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.
"China sticks to the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula, adheres to safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula and persists in tackling issues of the peninsula through dialogue, negotiations and consultations," the statement said.
Amid indications Beijing is accelerating its efforts to revive the six-party talks, the chief nuclear envoys from North Korea and China held talks in Pyongyang last week.
Confirming last week's talks in Pyongyang, China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters on Monday that the two sides "exchanged views on the resumption of the six-party talks."
The six-party talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, has been stalled since late 2008. (Yonhap News)
