China, S. Korea hail progress N. Korea-U.S. talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - China on Thursday, March 1 welcomed North Korea's agreement to suspend nuclear activities in return for food aid from the United States.

China encouraged both parties to “make their respective contributions to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

South Korea also welcomed the move, which “reflects the close work Seoul and Washington have done to try to resolve the nuclear standoff,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung Jae was quoted as saying by the Yonhap News Agency.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the agreement was “an important step forward.”

The agency was ready to resume its monitoring of North Korea's activities, as it “has an essential role to play in verifying the DPRK's nuclear program,” Director-General Yukiya Amano said referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK.

Under the deal reached Wednesday, Pyongyang agreed to a moratorium on long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and nuclear activities at its main facility in Yongbyon, including uranium enrichment.

North Korea also said it would allow inspectors from the nuclear watchdog to review enrichment activities in Yongbyon and oversee the shutdown of the site's five-megawatt reactor. In return, 240,000 tons of food aid were to be supplied by the US.

The move was seen as a possible breakthrough toward resuming six-party talks between the two Koreas, the US, Japan, Russia and China, which have been stalled since 2009.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said resuming the talks would still depend on further concrete actions by North Korea, M&C reported citing DPA.