KYODO NEWS - Jun 12, 2018 - 15:34 | World, All

China welcomes the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, expressing hope that Washington and Pyongyang will work together to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

The meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore "has important and positive meaning, and is creating a new history," Wang told reporters.

China wants Trump and Kim to "establish mutual trust" and "overcome difficulties" to establish a peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, Wang added.

(China Foreign Minister Wang Yi)

Wang also urged the U.S. and North Korean leaders to find a way to resolve security issues "via equal talks," reiterating that the nuclear matter should be solved in a "peaceful" manner.

China will continue to play a "constructive role" in creating peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, Wang said.

"I think nobody can doubt the extremely unique and important role China has played. And this role will continue," he said.

Relations between China and North Korea have improved markedly since Kim visited Beijing in March, on his first foreign trip since becoming supreme leader following the death of his father Kim Jong Il in 2011.

Xi and Kim also met again for two days in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in early May, just about one month before the Washington-Pyongyang summit.

After their summit on Tuesday, Trump and Kim signed a document, and the U.S. president invited the North Korean leader to visit the White House.