Liu Yunshan, who ranks fifth in China's ruling Communist Party hierarchy, arrived in Pyongyang on Friday for a four-day visit to attend commemorative events marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, including a huge military parade.
It is the first time for one of the members of the Chinese Communist Party's politburo standing committee to visit North Korea since Kim took power in late 2011. During the meeting, Liu told Kim that China is "willing to work with the DPRK (North Korea) to strive for an early resumption of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue," China's Xinhua news agency reported in a dispatch from Pyongyang. Kim told Liu that North Korea "needs a peaceful and stable external environment as it is striving to develop the economy and improve people's livelihood," the report said. However, Kim made no mention of the country's nuclear weapons program.
North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests so far, has not shown any signs of giving up its nuclear weapons program. Instead, the country has continued to advance its nuclear capability. Diplomatic efforts to resume the six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambition have produced no tangible results. The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the US, China, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.
YNA/MNA
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