Illustration: Peter C.Espina/GT

Senior North Korean official Ri Su-yong visited Beijing on Tuesday, raising speculations about his intentions and the trajectory of North Korea's nuclear path.

Ri was ambassador to Switzerland at the time when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended boarding school there. He served as foreign minister of North Korea before being promoted to become a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the WPK recently at the seventh congress.

China's ruling Communist Party and North Korea's WPK have long-established communication channels. To keep with normal party-to-party exchanges, Ri gave a briefing on the seventh congress during his visit, including important decisions made by the ruling party.

Pyongyang views the seventh congress as particularly important, as it was the first full meeting of the country's ruling party in 36 years. After the Communist Party of China (CPC) concluded its 18th congress in 2012, it also sent envoys to North Korea to communicate the outcome of the congress.

No matter the state of China-North Korea relations, the party-to-party exchanges have never stopped, given the high importance of the congress of both parties.

But the international community has focused on North Korea's nuclear issue and how China, a traditional ally of Pyongyang in the eyes of observers, will impose pressure on its northeastern neighbor.

The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was initiated by former leader Kim Il-sung, and also reaffirmed and committed by his successor Kim Jong-il. China has fully and unswervingly supported the goal of denuclearization on the peninsula.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, met the North Korean delegation led by Ri, he pointed out that China's stance on the issue of the Korean Peninsula is consistent and clear.

China has been consistent in its stance of upholding the three "Nos" - no nuclear weapons, no war, and no chaos. This stance of China, an independent country, applies to all country concerned, regardless of its relationship with China.

Regarding the three Nos, there have been sharp and sensitive differences between the related parties, and China insists on dealing with those differences through varied talks, such as the Six-Party Talks, as well as bilateral, trilateral, four-way and five-way talks.

Currently, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has been in a complex deadlock that threatens to fall into crisis. While talks remain an option, different parties insist on different objectives. For example, North Korea insists on bilateral talks with the US on a possible peace treaty, while it hopes to engage in a mil-to-mil talk with its southern neighbor. The other parties, however, are making efforts to resume the Six Party Talks to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Though the objectives may differ, they share the key word "talks" in common, a glimmer of hope and potential for our shared objective - denuclearization and permanent peace on the Peninsula.

As talks remain a common ground when in deadlock, all sides can also consider the dual-track negotiation approach proposed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, or simultaneous talks on denuclearization of the Peninsula and a peace treaty. This approach grasps the crux of the current situation and fits the common interests of all sides.

Therefore, it is high time that all stakeholders engage with each other more, like Ri's visit to Beijing, for exchanges. This will gradually lay the foundation for future talks to reach a breakthrough.

The author is a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn