China's senior diplomat meets North Korea foreign minister: ministry

SEOUL/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's state councillor Wang Yi met North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in Pyongyang on Wednesday to discuss bilateral ties and issues regarding the Korean peninsula, North Korean state news agency KCNA and China's foreign ministry said. China's foreign ministry said in a statement published on its website late on Wednesday Wang congratulated the leaders of the North and the South for their successful recent meeting. China fully supports North Korea's commitment to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula as well as its decision to concentrate its efforts on economic development, it said. "We hope the dialogue between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States will be conducted successfully and that substantial progress will be made," Wang said, according to the statement. (Reporting by Christine Kim in SEOUL and David Stanway in SHANGHAI; Editing by G Crosse and Paul Tait)