Chinese aide reportedly is pushing new North talks

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi passed through Seoul over the weekend for consultations on the North Korean nuclear problem, a Foreign Ministry official said yesterday.
His discussions with his South Korean counterpart, Kim Jae-sup, were conducted with no publicity. Beijing’s senior diplomat handling North Korean issues was believed to have urged that more dialogue with the North, after last month’s three-nation meeting in Beijing, should begin soon.
Mr. Wang left for Tokyo yesterday.
The visit highlighted the increased activity by diplomats from the three Asian countries just before President Roh Moo-hyun meets U.S. President George W. Bush this week. South Korea’s deputy foreign minister, Lee Soo-hyuck, left for Washington on Saturday after a meeting with Japanese officials here.
Officials here have indicated that a meeting of senior diplomats from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington to prepare a response to North Korea’s proposals made in Beijing last month would probably follow the visits of Mr. Roh and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Washington. Mr. Koizumi meets Mr. Bush on April 22-23.
In Seoul, the U.S. ambassador, Thomas Hubbard, said yesterday that the international community should join in the effort to prevent North Korea from exporting nuclear materials to other nations or terrorist organizations. Appearing on SBS television, Mr. Hubbard added that there has been no change in the U.S. desire for a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.
South Korea opposes more pressure on Pyeongyang for fear of an unpredictable, violent reaction. But Tokyo may not be as tolerant of North Korean scare tactics. Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary, Abe Shinzo, said over the weekend that North Korea could pay a price in more economic woes if it misjudges the situation. “We need to send a strong message to the North,” he said, suggesting a greater willingness to agree to any U.S. push for more sanctions.

by Kim Young-sae