New progress should be made and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue should be resolved through the six-nation talks, said Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at the welcoming banquet the Chinese side held in Beijing Monday evening in honor of the delegations to the fourth round of the talks scheduled to open Tuesday morning.

Li said at the welcoming banquet that over the past 12 months, "we experienced twists and turns and accumulated some wisdom."

"There are two most beautiful things on earth, one is the people's interest and the other the world peace," Li stressed.

Li Zhaoxing said, "The six-party talks are aimed to safeguard the interest of the people in the six nations concerned and in the whole world and to maintain world peace and stability."

"This is not only the call of the times, but also the common aspiration of the international community," Li said.

Li hoped all parties concerned to be well aware of the important and honorable mission they were shouldering and to make joint efforts to push forward the fourth round of the six-way talks and enable it to achieve results. And, Li said, exertions should be made to eventually resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through dialogues and in a peaceful manner, realize the denuclearization of the Peninsula, maintain peace and stability there, create a new situation of reconciliation and cooperation in northeast Asia, which will benefit the people of various nations.

Source: Xinhua