China said Tuesday it hoped the United States and North Korea would make headway on the touchy subject of North Korea's missile program.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said China welcomed US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's ongoing visit to Pyongyang and was pleased the two sides were addressing the issue of missiles.
"We hope to see that progress will be made in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea-US talks on missiles," Zhu told a regular briefing.
"One of the cornerstones of our policy is to maintain stability on the Korean peninsula. We support denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and resolutely oppose proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said.
Albright arrived in North Korea on Monday for an historic two-day visit to guage how serious the isolated Communist state's leadership is in ending decades of Cold War hostility.
She stressed Tuesday that North Korea would have to prove its good faith by addressing Washington's deep concerns about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Communist China, one of Pyongyang's few international allies, is opposed to US plans to build a missile defense shield to combat the threat of rogue states such as North Korea, fearing such a shield would be used to protect Taiwan from any possible Chinese attack.
Zhu welcomed the improvement in North Korean-US ties and said he hoped Albright's visit would ultimately lead to the two countries forging full diplomatic relations.
He also denied Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian's ongoing visit to North Korea was in anyway linked to that of Albright, saying Chi's visit had been designed purely to coincide with the 50th anniversary of China's entry into the 1950-53 Korean War.
"The delegation will participate in some activities in commemoration of the war in support of the DPRK and against US aggression held by the DPRK side. I do not see any direct relation" between the visits, said Zhu.
An estimated 900,000 Chinese died in the war and the Communist authorities in Beijing have been playing up the anniversary with tributes to the victory over "US aggression".
The two Communist countries have reiterated the importance of their political and military relationship during Chi's visit, according to official media in both countries -- BEIJING (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
