Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi says relieving the years-long military pressure and threats faced by North Korea is the key to solving the Korean Peninsula issue. 

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, Wang made the remark in an interview with a local media outlet after holding a series of talks with his regional counterparts, including South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Saturday. 

Wang said the goals of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and building a peace regime in the region are not contradictory to each other and should be pursued simultaneously. He added he expects South Korea to play a more active role to achieve the goals. 

He said South Korea and China have reaffirmed their will on pursuing a political solution to the Korean Peninsula as well as upholding the significance of the joint declarations of the 2018 U.S.-North Korea summit. 

Regarding bilateral relations, Wang said Seoul and Beijing are eternal neighbors and strategic cooperation partners and also broadly share interests and ideologies in various areas including regional stability.