国内英语新闻:Sept. 19 statement "best way" to address Korean Peninsula nuclear issue: Chinese FM

BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday called on parties to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue talks to adhere to the spirit of the Sept. 19 Joint Statement agreed ten years ago so as to realize the peninsula's denuclearization.

Wang made the remarks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse during an international seminar commemorating the tenth anniversary of the "milestone" joint statement.

Stressing that the joint statement has not been outdated, Wang said it is still of practical instructive significance and strong pertinency.

"The joint statement is the best way to address the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and is the right direction for the peace and stability of the peninsula," he said.

The document was struck by China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan in 2005 during the fourth round of the six-party talks.

Widely considered the most important agreement ever achieved since the talks was launched in 2003, the document affirmed the aim that the region will be denuclearized, in a peaceful manner. The DPRK committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs but insisted on its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Wang called on the six parties to the talks to reconfirm the contents, principles and concepts in the statement, and reaffirm the direction of denuclearization of the peninsula so as to maintain the general situation of peace and stability there.

He also urged parties to created conditions to reactivate the statement and relaunch the six-party talks at an early date.

The six-party talks were suspended in December 2008. The DPRK walked out of the talks in April 2009 in protest against UN sanctions.

More than a hundred scholars and officials from China, Russia, the United States, the ROK and Japan attended the two-day seminar.