On July 2, 2019, when jointly meeting the press with Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón of Mexico in Beijing, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed upon enquiry that lately, all parties have engaged in a new round of positive interactions on the Korean Peninsula issue. President Xi Jinping has paid a successful state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and the two heads of state have confirmed the general direction of the adherence to the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. At the recent meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States (US) in Osaka, Japan, President Xi Jinping introduced the principled position of the Chinese side on the Korean Peninsula issue to President Donald Trump, and pushed the US side to show flexibility and to meet each other halfway with the DPRK side, which included easing sanctions on the DPRK in due time and finding solutions to address mutual concerns through dialogue. President Xi Jinping also exchanged views with President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and supported the ROK side to continue to make efforts to this end.

Wang Yi said that on June 30, we saw the leaders of the US and the DPRK crossed the military demarcation line, held their third meeting in Panmunjom, and reached consensus on resuming the dialogue. This is the first time for the leaders of the US and the DPRK to shake hands and hold talks in Panmunjom, the place symbolizing confrontation and separation. This scene responds to the wishes of the people and is also in line with the trend of the times. It shows that the leaders of both countries are willing to seek consensus and solve problems through dialogue and negotiations. This is an important step towards the right direction. The Chinese side welcomes and supports this and expects the Korean Peninsula to deliver more good news to the world.

Wang Yi said that the world has entered the 21st century, but there are still remnants of the cold war on the Korean Peninsula. The hostility and mutual distrust among the parties have always been constraining the peace, stability and denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula. This abnormal phenomenon should have ended long ago. There is a good saying that “nothing is impossible if you work hard enough”. Now a rare opportunity for peace occurs in the situation on the Korean Peninsula once again. We hope the US and the DPRK can translate the political will of the two leaders into the substantive progress of dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, and together with all parties, make joint efforts to achieve the four goals, especially the denuclearization and the establishment of the peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, reached during the meeting between the leaders of the US and the DPRK in Singapore. The two sides should accelerate the process of the political settlement in accordance in a phased and synchronized fashion to realize the long-term peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula at an early date.