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| Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong talks with Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Hyo-jin
Denuclearizing North Korea and signing a peace treaty with the reclusive country are not separate matters, said Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Qiu Guohong Tuesday.
"I believe that we should wisely put the topics of helping Pyongyang and Washington sign a peace treaty and denuclearizing the North together on the negotiating table," Qiu said during a meeting with Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), according to MPK lawmaker Rep. Park Gwang-on.
Stressing the importance of resuming the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, Qiu said negotiating with Pyongyang is the best way to resolve the nuclear issue.
"Beijing thinks that talks and negotiations with the country will fundamentally resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," Qiu was quoted as saying. "The six-party talks are the best multilateral stage and China will keep working for their resumption."
Qiu underlined that China is sync with the international community's voice for the sanctions against North Korea and his government is faithfully implementing the United Nations Security Council resolution against the reclusive country.
The ambassador commented that he thinks the sanctions will take time but will have the desired effect in the end, Park said.
China has called for holding peace treaty talks with North Korea in tandem with discussions on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But the U.S. and South Korea remained against the proposal, saying denuclearization should come first.
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