China supports reforms of the United Nations and will enhance its relations with the international body, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in New York Sunday.  

"We support UN reforms with the hope that through reforms, the United Nations could better bring into play its authority and role," Wen told reporters after his meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"We hope that through the reforms, the United Nations would be more representative of the interests of the people throughout the world," he said. "We know that it is an arduous task, whose fulfillment would require the assistance, cooperation and support from all member states."

Under the current international situation of peace and development, it is necessary for the United Nations to conduct reforms in order to bring about a fair and reasonable international political and economic order, Wen said.

"China stands ready for closer cooperation with the United Nations. We will support the United Nations in its work," he stressed.

Wen, whose current four-nation trip will also take him to Ethiopia, said he also talked with the UN chief about how to help African countries develop their economies.

Describing their talks as "very constructive and stimulating," Annan said that he and Wen promised to strengthen the cooperation between the United Nations and China and agreed on the need to reform the international body to make it effective and more responsive to the challenges of the present time.

Asked about the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Wen said there had been progress in efforts for the peaceful resolution of this question, citing the multilateral talks which took place in Beijing in April and August this year.

"It's important to continue with the six-party process, to have the talks resumed as soon as possible," he said. "We hope that it will be possible to hold the six-party talks in the month of December. Of course, it still depends on the consensus and agreement among all the parties concerned."

At present, the DPRK has made it clear that it's not its objective to possess nuclear weapons and its ultimate objective is to have a nuclear weapons-free Korean Peninsula, Wen said, adding that the DPRK also wants its security concerns to be addressed.

The US side has also said on many occasions it has no intention of changing the DPRK government, he said. "The positions of the two parties are getting closer."

To resolve the DPRK's nuclear issue, China, the DPRK, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States held their first round of talks in Beijing in August. The date for the next round has not yet been fixed.

The Chinese premier arrived in New York on Sunday afternoon on a four-day trip to the United States. After his stay in New York, he will travel on to Washington and the northeastern US port city of Boston.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2003)