S.Korean FM vows tenacious efforts for peaceful resolution of Korean Peninsula nuke issue

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Monday vowed tenacious efforts for a peaceful resolution to the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue.

Kang said at an annual meeting with the heads of foreign missions that South Korea will tenaciously make efforts to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) while seeking a variety of ways to encourage the DPRK to the dialogue table.

The South Korean government, Kang said, will deter the DPRK's further provocation together with the international community while strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance to deter the DPRK provocation, promising to manage security situations on the peninsula in a stable manner.

Kang said the most urgent challenge facing South Korea is the DPRK's nuclear issue, emphasizing the importance for close cooperation with key relevant countries such as the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

She stressed that cooperation with the four relevant countries would be more important than anything to peacefully resolve the peninsula's nuclear issue, noting that President Moon Jae-in's state visit to China last week was a big step to normalize relations between South Korea and China.

Over half of South Koreans positively saw Moon's four-day trip to China as it contributed to peace and stability on the peninsula, according to a local poll released Monday. Enditem