BEIJING, Dec. 18 -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday that China upholds its position on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying voiced the stance when commenting on a Tuesday editorial in Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which praised the late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il for turning the country into a "full-fledged nuclear weapons state."

"China's stance on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is very clear, and that is upholding the denuclearization of the peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and solving problems through talks," said Hua.

China will maintain contact with all parties while working for an early resumption of the six-party talks, and will play a positive role in bringing the issue back to the process of talks and negotiation, she said.