UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has hailed China as a "very important contributor" to the settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. He said the inter-Korean talks announced by the South recently was "a solution in the region". The UN chief added that the proposed talks between the DPRK and the US was a very welcome development.

ANTONIO GUTERRES UN SECRETARY-GENERAL "I was extremely encouraged by the recent visit of the leader of the DPRK to China and I think China is of course a very important contributor to a solution in this region. I am very happy that it was possible in that visit for us to make very clearly the case that it was needed, a resumption of dialogue between the North and the South of the peninsula and that it was needed a serious negotiation between North Korea and the United States to reach the denuclearization, the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."