The foreign ministers of China and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) said in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that both nations hope that all parties involved in the six-party talks will step up their diplomatic efforts, avoid complicating the situation on the Korean Peninsula and push for early resumption of the talks.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-moon are both looking for a peaceful solution through dialogue and a nuclear-weapon free peninsula.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) announced last week that it was pulling out of the talks. The last round of talks, involving, China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and the US as well as North Korea, took place in June 2004

The two ministers also said they were pleased at the progress made in their countries' bilateral relationship in the past year and that they will continue advancing their comprehensive partnership.

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn February 17, 2005)