"The Korean Peninsula issue cannot be solved in one day. The crux is for both sides to address each other’s reasonable concerns, accumulate mutual trust and achievements, and pave the way for solving the problem." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks at a regular press conference on Thursday.

China always believes that political dialogue and negotiations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the U.S. are essential in solving the Korean Peninsula issue. 

"We all noticed that leaders from both sides had expressed the willingness to maintain dialogue," Lu added. "We hope the two countries can put the will into practice."

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Lu said, "China proposed a step-by-step suggestion," and called on Pyongyang and Washington to seriously consider it.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said late Tuesday that the United States would step up sanctions against the DPRK if Pyongyang was unwilling to abandon its nuclear weapons program. 

On the same day, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan, Choson Sinbo, said the U.S. president should take the first step to build trust between the two countries. "Unless Trump wants to lose a chance for denuclearization for long, he should speed up implementing measures to establish trust with the DPRK," it said.

(Cover: DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (L）and U.S. President Donald Trump sit for a dinner at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 27, 2019./VCG Photo)