A Chinese delegation pledged friendship and deeper ties with
Pyongyang on Monday as Beijing sought to encourage its neighbor
back into nuclear disarmament talks.
Amid China's efforts to help ease tensions caused by the missile
tests of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan
backed away Monday from its insistence that the UN Security Council
should vote on its proposal for sanctions against Pyongyang.
Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, China's chief negotiator of the
Six-Party Talks, arrived in Pyongyang as part of a goodwill
delegation led by Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu to celebrate the 45th anniversary
of a friendship treaty between China and the DPRK, the Foreign
Ministry said.
A DPRK delegation was expected to arrive in China today to mark
the anniversary. Meanwhile, top leaders of the two countries
exchanged congratulatory messages on the treaty, Xinhua News Agency
said.
The Chinese message from President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Wu Bangguo, the country's top legislator, was
addressed to the DPRK leader Kim Jong-il.
The Chinese government has not said whether Wu or Hui, who will
stay in Pyongyang for six days, will bring up the issue of the
six-nation nuclear talks. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu
revealed last week that China was "making assiduous efforts" in
pushing for a resumption of the negotiations.
Talks have been deadlocked since November because of a boycott
by Pyongyang in protest of a crackdown by Washington on its alleged
money laundering and other financial crimes.
The Chinese visit has attracted much attention amid the rush of
diplomatic exchanges that have taken place since the DPRK's missile
tests last week.
Considering the Chinese move, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi said yesterday that Japan would not insist on a vote on a
UN Security Council resolution, proposed by Japan, that would
impose sanctions on Pyongyang for test-launching missiles.
The US, Britain and France have expressed support for the
Japanese proposal to the UN to slap sanctions on Pyongyang. But
China and Russia both permanent UN Security Council members with
veto powers have voiced opposition to the resolution.
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing "exchanged views" by phone on
Sunday with his 11 council member counterparts and the Republic of
Korea (ROK), the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
He stressed that "any action should be conducive to maintaining
the peace and stability in the region and the unity of the Security
Council," the statement said.
Despite the opposition, Japan had initially showed no signs of
backing away from the UN resolution.
Nine of the 15 votes on the council were needed to pass the
resolution, which would have barred the transfer of financial
resources to Pyongyang's nuclear program.
(China Daily July 11, 2006)