Qin made the remarks at a regular press conference yesterday afternoon when asked to comment on the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)'s declaration of its nuclear programs and the possible recipient country of DPRK's nuclear materials.

Qin said the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in the DPRK have been shut down and were being decommissioned, adding that most decommissioning work would be completed by the end of this year.

Qin said that under a joint document adopted by the six parties to the multilateral talks, the United States would take the lead in the decommissioning work under the principles of being acceptable to all parties, scientific, safe, verifiable, and consistent with international standards.

When asked whether the Chinese and Japanese leaders would discuss the six-party talks process, Qin said he believed that the leaders of China and Japan -- which are parties to the process -- would exchange views on the talks and on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Qin said that China and Japan have maintained close communication and cooperation in the six-party talks process and he hoped such cooperation could be maintained and strengthened.

Qin noted that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the normalization of ties between relevant nations, and the peace and stability of the peninsula and those of the northeast Asia at large are the agreed consensus of and in the common interest of all the six parties.

China hoped all parties could strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation, stick to the action-to-action principle and remain committed to keeping and pushing forward the momentum of the six-party talks so as to realize the goals set at the six-party talks.

According to a six-party talks joint document released in Beijing on Oct. 3, the DPRK agreed to disable all its existing nuclear facilities and provide a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs by the end of this year.

The document said the decommissioning of the 5 megawatt Experimental Reactor, the Reprocessing Plant (Radiochemical Laboratory) and the Nuclear Fuel Rod Fabrication Facility in Yongbyon would be completed by Dec. 31.

The six-party talks, initiated in 2003 and aimed at resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, involve China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.