Chinese ambassador Wu Hailong Wednesday briefed the IAEA on the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, saying the common statement reached early this week laid a good foundation for pushing the talks forward.

"The Joint Statement is the first substantial joint document reached since the six-party talks were launched," said Wu while addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors meeting.

Wu said the document accommodates the interests and concerns of all parties, and is a "balanced, win-win document" which marks the entry of the six-party talks, hosted by China in Beijing and attended by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, into a new phase.

"The positive results achieved in the six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue are testimony to the fact that dialogue and negotiation are fundamentally in the interests of all parties and are a realistic and effective approach resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

The ambassador also noted that the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is "complex" and a thorough solution would involve a difficult process.

"There is a long way for the six-party talks to go, and many difficulties and twists are sure to be encountered," he said.

As for China's position on the issue, the ambassador said China hopes that "the parties continue to practice respect, flexibility and pragmatism to steadily build understanding and confidence, accumulate consensus and narrow the gap for a final settlement."

Source: Xinhua