The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) said yesterday that the country is willing to return to six-party talks when conditions are ripe.

Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, told a visiting senior Chinese official that he wishes all sides to take enough action with sincerity.

Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told Kim that China would like the six-party discussions on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue to resume as early as possible.

Kim said North Korea adheres to its aim for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to the principle of peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue, saying his country "has never opposed the six-party talks and will not withdraw from the talks."

Wang brought Kim a message from Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which said that a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue and to North Korea’s reasonable concerns via the six-party talks conforms to the fundamental interests of both countries.

North Korea announced on February 10 it would indefinitely postpone the six-party talks, adding that the unchanged hostile US policy towards it was the direct reason.

Kim highly values the efforts of the CPC and the Chinese government in maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Wang emphasized Chinese support for denuclearization of the peninsula, which is in the best interests of the North Korean people and for Chinese and regional security.

"We wish for all sides to resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue and pay close attention to North Korea’s reasonable concerns," Wang said.

They reassured each other of the long-standing friendship of the two parties and two countries.

Wang completes his four-day visit today, which also included talks with Kim Yong-nam, president of North Korea's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, soon after his arrival in Pyongyang on Saturday.

North Korea yesterday permitted the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to conduct search operations in its territorial waters for a missing raft, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported.

The raft, with four people on board, lost contact with maritime authorities as it sailed from Russia's far eastern port of Vladivostok to Niigata, Japan. It was on an expedition to follow a sea route dating from an ancient Korean kingdom.

South Korea's maritime police dispatched a light plane to search for the raft in the East Sea (the Sea of Japan), about 290 miles northeast of Dokdo, an island claimed by both South Korea and Japan, Yonhap said.

(China Daily February 22, 2005)