UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson on Friday called for efforts to improve maternal health and sanitation issues around the world.

Eliasson said at a press briefing held during his ongoing China visit that the UN's millennium development goals are expected to be achieved by 2015, although two of the goals will require substantial effort to achieve.

"One is maternal health. There are far too many women who die in childbirth around the world with a lack of midwives and a lack of facilities when they are giving birth," he said.

He cited a lack of water and sanitation as the second goal that will be difficult to reach.

Eliasson said there are 783 million people in the world who don't have access to clean or relatively safe water, while another 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets.

Eliasson also said he had conducted helpful discussions with China regarding the Korean Peninsula.

"There is a very major responsibility on the DPRK government. We hope there will be a road back as soon as possible to a political process. There is an instrument in the Six-Party talks. And there is a need for diplomacy to make sure that dangerous escalation does not take place," he said. Endi

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