A top North Korean general has said that his country seeks a "stable peace" and wants to turn the Korean Peninsula into "the cradle of peace and prosperity. Vice Minister of the People's Armed Forces, Col Gen Kim Hyong Ryong, told a Xiangshan forum in Beijing that Pyongyang wanted to contribute to the security of Asia and the globe.<br />'' <br />''Ryong said North Korea was following through on agreements reached with South Korea and the US, including the consensus reached with US President Donald Trump at a June summit in Singapore.<br />'' <br />''North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has this year taken some steps to ease tensions, including dismantling a nuclear testing site. However, the United States and its allies are reluctant to ease sanctions pressure unless the country takes significant disarmament steps.<br />'' <br />''While the Singapore declaration has been criticised as vague, tensions along the North and South Korean border have dropped, as witnessed by a joint effort to remove mines from one of the heaviest Korean War battle sites at their border.<br />''<br />''<br />