All national dailies reported on Saturday on a news conference held by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou for Japanese media outlets in Beijing on Friday. Kong, who is also China’s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, will take up post of ambassador to Japan later this month. Kong reportedly stressed the need for Japan and North Korea to hold dialogue. He voiced support for Prime Minister Abe’s proposal to meet with Kim Jong Un unconditionally and his expectation for Japan to play a constructive political role in resolving Korean Peninsula issues. He also said that the DPRK’s recent projectile launches “have not reversed the direction” of a thaw on the Peninsula. On Friday Kyodo News and Jiji Press filed dispatches on the news conference.