We support US, North Korea on continued dialogue: China

China has given a full appraisal of the series of significant moves taken by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) towards denuclearisation, and encourages and supports DPRK and the United States in continuing their dialogues and achieve positive results, said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

The spokesman, Lu Kang, made the remarks at a media briefing in Beijing when asked to comment on the New Year Message delivered by DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un.

Lu said: "It is known to all that important and positive changes have taken place in the Korean Peninsula over the past year. We are glad to see that the Korean Peninsula issue has returned to the track of dialogue and negotiations and the north and south of the Peninsula have realized improvement and development in their relations."

"China supports the series of important moves taken by the DPRK toward the denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula, supports the DPRK in persisting in the stand of denuclearisation and peaceful dialogue. We also support the DPRK and the United States and the DPRK and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in continuing the good momentum of their interactions, in continuing revealing goodwill, consolidating mutual trust and improving relations and pushing the denuclearisation of the Peninsula and the process of political solution to the peninsula issue," said Lu.

Lu said that "just as Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his telephone conversation with U.S. President Trump on Dec. 29, 2018, China supports the DPRK and the United States in continuing their dialogue and achieve positive results. We also encourage the two sides to do the same."

Lu said: "We believe and hope that the two sides respect each other and address each other's reasonable concerns, make concerted efforts for positive progress in pushing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and building a mechanism for peace on the peninsula. China will continue its role in these respects."