Beijing, September 29: US and Chinese officials met Tuesday over North Korea’s nuclear program amid signs Pyongyang may be willing to restart talks on the issue.
The discussions come ahead of a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Pyongyang next week that could see North Korea rejoining six-nation talks on dismantling its nuclear programs in return for economic and diplomatic incentives.
US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, Washington’s point man on North Korea, met this morning Gen Ma Xiaotian, one of the Chinese military’s top officials for international affairs. Steinberg was scheduled to talk later in the day with senior foreign policy adviser Dai Bingguo and Vice President Xi Jinping.
North Korea’s program to construct a nuclear arsenal is considered the key threat to security in northeast Asia, but has also created an opportunity for unprecedented diplomatic cooperation between Washington and Beijing.
Wen’s Oct 4-6 visit to North Korea comes amid indications from Pyongyang that it is willing to rejoin the stalled disarmament talks after months of boycotting them while threatening nuclear war and conducting nuclear and missile tests. China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Wen would meet with top North Korean leaders and attend events commemorating 60 years of diplomatic ties.
Yesterday, foreign ministers from South Korea, Japan and China met in Shanghai to discuss North Korea and other regional issues.
—Agencies