Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday urged all sides concerned to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula with wisdom, patience and goodwill.

Wen made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Lee Myung-bak in Beijing.

At a joint press conference after the summit, Wen said the three leaders gave great attention to the situation in Northeast Asia.

The peace and stability of Northeast Asia not only involves the interests of all the nations in the region, but also works as a main precondition for sustainable development and prosperity there, Wen said.

As major nations in Northeast Asia, China, Japan and the ROK have incumbent responsibility in the region, according to the Chinese premier.

"We should absolutely get rid of the Cold War mentality and work hard to address relevant issues through dialogue and negotiations, keeping in mind the legitimate security concerns of all sides," he said.

"What is most urgent (for us) is to make all-out efforts to prevent the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula," he added.

"All the sides should give full play to their wisdom, remain patient and show their goodwill to alleviate conflict and return to the right track of dialogue and negotiations," Wen said, calling for continued efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the six-party talks.

The six-party talks, which involve the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the ROK, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, were launched in 2003, but stalled in December 2008. The DPRK quit the talks in April 2009.

During the trilateral meeting, the leaders also exchanged views on the situation in the DPRK and a presidential statement issued by the UN Security Council on the country, according to Japanese Prime Minister Noda and ROK President Lee.

The DPRK launched a Kwangmyongsong-3 observation satellite on April 13 to mark the 100th birthday of late DPRK founder Kim Il Sung. The long-range rocket crashed into the sea after traveling a short distance, and the DPRK confirmed the failure later that day.

On April 16, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning the launch and demanding that Pyongyang fully comply with relevant resolutions and suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program.

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