China said Tuesday it supported inter-Korean dialogue on easing the tension over the Korean Peninsula.

"We support the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in resolving issues and advance cooperation through talks," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular briefing.

Jiang's comments came after DPRK and ROK officials ended a rare governmental dialogue on Tuesday without significant breakthrough.

The talks, which were the first time that the two sides had held a government dialogue since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February last year, lasted only 22 minutes at the DPRK's border city of Kaesong.

The talks came amid mounting tension over the Korean Peninsula. The ROK government announced last Saturday it would not declare a full participation in the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) before Tuesday's inter-Korean talks.

The DPRK has repeatedly warned it will take stern countermeasures if the ROK fully joins the PSI, denouncing Seoul's full participation in the PSI as a "declaration of war".

"China, as a close neighbor to the Korean Peninsula and a friend of the two Koreas, has always believed that improved inter-Korean relations will serve the common interests of all people in the Korean Peninsula and work for regional peace,stability and prosperity," Jiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2009)