Chinese Vice-president Meets Japanese Guests

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 26, 2003

Chinese Vice-president Meets Japanese Guests

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China holds that the Korean Peninsula should be nuclear-free and that the reasonable security concerns of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea should be addressed, Vice-President Zeng Qinghong said Monday.

Zeng said China has always stood firm on the principle of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and will actively encourage the parties concerned to solve the nuclear issue through peaceful dialogue.

Zeng made the remarks in a meeting with Hiromu Nonaka, former secretary-general of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party.

Zeng also urged the Japanese government to pay greater attention to an early and thorough settlement of the issue related to chemical weapons which were left in China by invading Japanese troops during the World War II.

"The issue (of the Japanese chemical weapons left in China) is not only a historical one but also a current one which needs to be solved as soon as possible," Zeng said.

China has long insisted that Japan must shoulder the responsibility for disposing of the chemical weapons left behind by its troops across China, which cause health and environmental damage from time to time.

The issue was recently highlighted by an incident in which leakage of mustard gas from one such chemical weapon in northeast China's Qiqihar City killed one person and injured more than 40 others.

Hiromu Nonaka expressed his deep sorrow over the serious damage caused by the Japanese chemical weapons to the Chinese people, saying that the Japanese government should fully understand its history of aggression against China.

The older and younger generations of politicians in Japan should work hard to promote the healthy development of Japan-China relations, he said.

Zeng also said that China and Japan should jointly deepen their mutual trust in the field of politics, promote economic and trade relations, increase exchanges between the two peoples and improve cooperation in regional affairs.

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