BEIJING -- China here on Saturday expressed the hope and support for efforts by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to meet each other halfway.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the Chinese side hopes and supports the DPRK and the United States to actively push forward preparations for their coming summit.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will meet with leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore as originally scheduled after recent twists and turns.

The DPRK and the United States have recently made positive progress on the summit, an important step to solving the Korean Peninsula issue politically. The Chinese side is "happy" for that, said Hua.

Hua reiterated that the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is at a rare historical juncture. The summit between the DPRK and the United States is crucial to denuclearization and lasting peace on the peninsula.

She said that China expects the DPRK and the United States to reach an outcome that both sides and the international community want, so as to open a new era of denuclearization, peace and prosperity.