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China army general urges calm on Korean peninsula

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-30 14:28

SINGAPORE - All parties concerned should remain cool-headed and take measures to address the problem on the Korean peninsula, a senior Chinese military official said here on Saturday.

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Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said at the 2009 Asian Security Summit that the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) on May 25 further complicated the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Answering question from the audience on China's view on DPRK's nuclear test, Ma said that China has expressed great concern about the nuclear test. "China's stance on the issue is consistent," he said, "We are opposed to nuclear proliferation."

He said that China understands the concerns and worries of the international community on the recent development in the Korean peninsula.

"Our view is that the Korean peninsula should move toward denuclearization," he said.

China's Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Ma Xiaotian (L) and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates shake hands before a bilateral meeting at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore May 30, 2009. [Agencies]

Ma is in Singapore for the three-day Asia Security Summit, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The summit brings together 22 ministerial-level guests, along with parliamentarians, military leaders and security experts from more than 27 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, for discussions on regional security issues and defense cooperation.