By KUNA
Tokyo : North Korean leader Kim Jong-il stressed there is no change in his country’s stance of implementing a six-party agreement on its denuclearization, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.
Kim made the remarks during his meeting in Pyongyang with Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of China’s Communist Party, Xinhua said.
“Our stance on fulfillment of commitment under the six-party talks remains unchanged and we will cooperate with China to push forward the full implementation of agreements,” Kim was quoted as telling Wang.
Kim also expressed the hope that all parties concerned should continue to take positive steps under the principle of “action for action,” according to the report.
Wang arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a four-day visit. Kim’s remarks came ahead of a visit to North Korea by Sung Kim, director of the US Department of State’s Office of Korea Affairs, later this week in order to advance the deal.
Under a six-party talks joint document released by the two Koreas, the US, Japan, China and Russia last October, Pyongyang agreed to disable all the existing nuclear facilities and provide the complete and correct list of all its nuclear programs by the end of 2007 in return for one million tons of fuel oil or its equivalent in aid.
The North, however, failed to meet the deadline, causing concern among its negotiating partners.