China rejects conclusion of Vancouver meeting, insists on dialogue

China on Wednesday rejected the conclusion of a meeting in Canada about North Korea's nuclear programme in which 20 countries participated, and insisted that dialogue is the only way to resolve the crisis.

The 20-nation summit was held on Tuesday in Vancouver and the participating countries agreed to strengthen the surveillance of North Korea's sea routes to prevent the country from avoiding the sanctions imposed by the UN, Efe news reported.

China did not attend the summit, which saw the participation of countries which had in some way aided South Korea in the Korean War (1950-1953).

"Without the participation of the important relevant parties of the issue, this meeting cannot help to properly settle the issue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Alleging that a "Cold War mentality" was behind the meeting, Lu said that it would only divide the international community and undermine the joint efforts to properly settle the issue.

As an alternative, China urged support for the recently improved diplomatic relations between the two Koreas and a return to the talks between the US, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas within the framework of the UN Security Council.

"Facts have proven once and again that only imposing pressures and sanctions will be counterproductive," Lu added.

--IANS

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