China, Russia aim to lift some DPRK sanctions

China and Russia on Tuesday submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council, calling for some sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to be lifted according to its compliance with relevant UN resolutions.

The draft resolution, aimed at a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue, has been handed to UN Security Council members, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

"We hope the Security Council will speak with one voice in support of a political resolution of the peninsula issue," Geng said.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is at an important, sensitive point, and the need for a political resolution has become more urgent, Geng said. He called on the international community to continue the momentum of dialogue and avoid the reoccurrence of tensions and confrontations.

Geng said the Security Council must perform its duties as granted by the UN Charter and take concrete measures in this regard. The five permanent members of the Security Council are China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

Russia's Sputnik news agency said the text of the document shows that the resolution proposes to exempt the inter-Korean rail and road cooperation from UN sanctions and lift all measures previously imposed by the Security Council directly related to civilian livelihood, among others.

According to Geng, the draft resolution also proposes reaffirming that all parties should be committed to realizing denuclearization of the peninsula, urging the US and the DPRK to continue dialogue and calling for the resumption of talks between the DPRK and the permanent Security Council members.

"We hope the Security Council will encourage the US and DPRK to respect each other's concerns and show flexibility and sincerity," Geng said, adding that dialogue and contact should be restored as soon as possible to break the deadlock and to prevent the dialogue process from derailing or regressing.

China stands ready to work with relevant parties and continues to make efforts in realizing the denuclearization of the peninsula and safeguarding its long-lasting peace and stability, he said.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters that the draft resolution was aimed at encouraging talks between the US and DPRK.

"That's the whole idea. We don't do this resolution in spite, we really want to facilitate," he was quoted as saying.