China, South Korea exchange views on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue

Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2016 in Tokyo, Japan shows a TV hostess of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reads news during the broadcast. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced Wednesday that it has successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)

BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se held a telephone conversation Friday to exchange views focused on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

In the phone conversation, Wang said that China always adheres to the principles of denuclearization of the peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and resolving problems through dialogue, which are correlated with one another and which are all indispensable.

Wang reiterated China's established position to firmly oppose any nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and expressed China's willingness to maintain communication with South Korea to deal with the complicated situation on the peninsula and bring the nuclear issue back to the track of negotiations as soon as possible.

The DPRK announced Wednesday that it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test.

The test, if confirmed, will have been the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK. The previous three were carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013 respectively.