The U.N. says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called for peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and the resumption of six-party talks on the North's nuclear program during a wide-ranging meeting. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban expressed strong appreciation for China's “active efforts” to revive the nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan, and Russia, which have been stalled for nearly two years. Earlier on Thursday, China called for a resumption of the six-party talks. “The six-party talks have been stalled for two years. We hope the parties concerned make concerted efforts to resume the talks as soon as possible,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by Xinhua as saying. Nesirky said Ban and Yang also discussed Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Myanmar during Thursday's meeting.
