China judged the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), the two UN bodies responsible for weapons inspections in Iraq, as "effective and progressive", Kong said at a regular news conference Thursday in Beijing.

Kong said the effective and progressive work of UNMOVIC and the IAEA justified the inspections; meanwhile the fact that the inspections had encountered some problems and difficulties proved they should continue, he noted.

Kong called for Iraq's full cooperation to defuse the crisis "as soon as possible".

Kong reiterated that China saw no need to have a new resolutionon the issue, adding that the unanimous passage of the current resolution and its implementation verified its effectiveness.

Kong said during US Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent visit to China, the Chinese leaders had informed him thoroughly on China's position on Iraq, that the issue should be settled based on Resolution 1441, within the UN framework and by political and diplomatic means.

Kong said China took note that the majority of member states of the UN Security Council in a two-day debate on Iraq that began Tuesday had called for peaceful and diplomatic means to solve the crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2003)