China welcomes any consensus reached between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Japan, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing Saturday.

Wang said at a press conference that the DPRK and Japan met on the sidelines of the six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue, and they exchanged views on existing problems.

"China welcomes any consensus reached between the DPRK and Japan, and hopes an early normalization of relations between the two sides can be realized.," Wang said.

The Chinese deputy foreign minister said the specific goal of next round of six-party talks, set to be held in Beijing no later than the end of the second quarter of 2004, has yet to be discussed among the six countries.

He stressed that as the general goal of realizing a nuclear- free Korean Peninsula through peaceful means has been set, the six parties would work together and find ways to realize it.