China confirms visit by US envoy for DPRK

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that US envoy for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is now in Beijing for a three-day visit.

Glyn Davies, the US special representative for policy on the DPRK, started the visit on Tuesday, Spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing.

When asked about the talks between Davies and his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei, Hong said information about the talks "will be released at an appropriate time."

This is the second meeting between Davies and Wu in less than a month following their meeting in Washington. Davies will travel on to Seoul and Tokyo later this week. Earlier this month, Wu paid a visit to the DPRK.

China has maintained close contact and communication with all members of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, Hong said.

"Under current circumstances, we hope that relevant parties can show wisdom and come back to the track of dialogue and consultations as soon as possible to promote an early resumption of the six-party talks," Hong said.

He reiterated that China would like to work with all parties concerned to push forward the six-party talks and implement the September 19 Joint Statement in a comprehensive and balanced way.

In the September 19 Joint Statement, signed in 2005, the DPRK promised to abandon all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs.

The six-party talks, convening the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.