SEOUL: China's foreign ministry says it hopes all parties to the North Korean nuclear dispute will "show their political courage" in restarting negotiations, and pledges its support in working toward that goal.

Spokesman Geng Shuang on Friday said China welcomes and supports the "positive inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea interactions."

Geng told reporters at a regularly scheduled press briefing that China hope that all parties "will continue to strive for the political resolution and lasting peace and stability on the peninsula."

China is North Korea's most important ally and trading partner, although it has agreed to increasingly harsh United Nations economic sanctions in a bid to steer the North back to talks. In the 2000s, Beijing hosted several rounds of six-nation denuclearization talks involving the Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S.

RUSSIA ALSO WELCOMES

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is welcoming the announcement that North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump have agreed to meet.

Lavrov was quoted by Russian state news agency Tass on Friday saying during a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that Russia considers the move "a step in the right direction."

He went on to express hope that the agreement would be implemented and that it is "necessary for normalizing the situation around the Korean peninsula."