Seoul, October 11: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has called on Washington to hold constructive talks with Pyongyang in order to resolve its stand off with the North on nuclear issues.
Wen, who had just returned from a three-day visit to North Korea, told a Saturday news conference in Beijing that Pyongyang was open to talks on its nuclear program.
During his three-day visit, Wen had urged the North to return to the stalled six-party disarmament negotiations, which Pyongyang withdrew from last year.
The North, however, conditioned its return to the six-party negotiation on holding talks with the United States first, to mend ‘hostile relations’.
Wen called on the US to take swift action regarding the talks. “If we miss this opportunity, then we may have to make even more efforts further down the road.”
The group of six nations which includes China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the United States, launched a scheme in 2005 to help stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons plans.
—–Agencies