China says ready to take part in Korean peace treaty

China said on Wednesday that it was ready to play its role in producing a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War and replace the Korean Armistice agreement, which is set to complete 65 years this week and includes China as a signatory.

China's Foreign Ministry said that it supported efforts to establish a treaty by the parties involved.

"Ending the war stage in the Korean peninsula and replacing the armistice with a peace regime is an important component of a political settlement of the Korean peninsula issue. It is also what the international community hopes to see," Efe quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang as saying in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"As an important party of the Korean peninsula issue and as a signatory of the armistice treaty China will play its due role in this regard," he added.

Geng did not respond when asked if complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was a prerequisite for the peace treaty being signed.

North Korea's state media had urged South Korea on Monday to expedite efforts to sign a treaty and formally end the Korean War of 1950-1953, as agreed in a bilateral summit between the two countries on April 27.

"Given that the South Korean government also has an obligation to carry out what was agreed upon in the Panmunjom Declaration, it should not sit idle on the issue of declaring an end to the war," Uriminzokkiri, one of the main propaganda websites of the North Korean regime, said in an editorial, ahead of the 65th anniversary of the ceasefire on Friday.

"It is a historic task that cannot be delayed anymore to build a solid peace regime by ending the current abnormal state of armistice on the Korean Peninsula," the editorial added.

Meari, another propaganda website run by Pyongyang, urged Seoul to do "its part" to formally end the war.

--IANS

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