China: North Korea policy 'consistent' with denuclearization

May 18 (UPI) -- North Korea's withdrawal from friendly engagement with the United States and South Korea does not change China's North Korea policy, Beijing's foreign ministry said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told South Korean news agency Yonhap that China stands firm on its policy of engagement with North Korea.

"China's position on the issues of the Korean Peninsula has never changed and is consistent," Lu said of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks about Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During a Thursday meeting with NATO Security General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said Xi could be "influencing Kim Jong Un."

"If you remember two weeks ago, all of a sudden out of nowhere Kim Jong Un went to China to say hello again -- second time -- to President Xi," Trump said.

Lu added, "While other countries change their positions this way and that, China will not change."

"We will hold fast to resolving the issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the issue of peace and stability, through dialogue and negotiation," the Chinese spokesman said, adding the Chinese government welcomes Trump's statement opposing a "Libya model" of denuclearization for North Korea.

Regime security must be any part of a deal with North Korea, Lu said.

China has continued to pursue engagement with North Korea following a second summit between Kim Jong Un and Xi last week.

Pyongyang's state-controlled news agency KCNA reported Friday a "Chinese cultural delegation" visited Pyongyang to meet with North Koreans at arts academies and universities.

"Vice Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly standing committee Kim Yong Dae met with the delegation at Mansudae," the statement from KCNA read.

The Chinese group visited the Pyongyang University of Fine Arts, according to the report.