MOSCOW — China advocates the Korean Peninsula should be denuclearized and a peace mechanism established, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Moscow on April 5.

All sides should work toward denuclearization on the peninsula as it is the key to all related problems and the path to long-term peace and stability, Wang told a news conference following his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is closely connected to the security threat facing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for a long time, said Wang, who is visiting Russia as the special envoy of President Xi Jinping.

It is absolutely reasonable and obligatory to address the DPRK’s security concerns during the process of denuclearization, Wang said.

The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue should be dealt with stage by stage with concerted efforts from all parties to seek a package of solutions, the top Chinese diplomat said.

Against the backdrop that the DPRK and the United States lack basic mutual trust, relevant parties should promote the peace process step by step and meet each other half way with the precondition of denuclearization, he said.

At different stages, relevant parties should take responsibilities and obligations accordingly so that the peace process will proceed in a sustainable manner and negotiations will not be interrupted, Wang said.

Wang said peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the interest of China and Russia, which have made unremitting efforts together in recent years for a peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue, including creating a feasible road map.

He said China and Russia welcome and support the notable improvement in the situation on the peninsula and appreciate the efforts made by relevant parties, including the DPRK and South Korea.

China and Russia hope that relevant parties could grasp the opportunities of the DPRK-South Korea summit and the DPRK-US summit to completely defuse the tensions on the peninsula to avert a war or chaos, Wang said.

He said China and Russia will continue to strengthen coordination and keep in touch with other stakeholders in the issue to jointly cement the hard-won momentum of negotiations and secure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.