China to Send Envoy to US For Talks on North Korea
VOA News
17 Jul 2003, 13:31 UTC
China is intensifying its efforts to be a key player in resolving tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons development program.
Beijing is dispatching a top-level envoy, Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo, to Washington for expected talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. That same envoy just returned from North Korea, where he delivered a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao that is thought to contain an appeal for Pyongyang to enter multilateral talks.
In April, China hosted trilateral talks with the United States and North Korea. Pyongyang has been insisting on direct negotiations with Washington, but the Bush administration has refused. On Wednesday, senior U.S. officials said China believes North Korea is now willing to resume talks on the nuclear issue. It is not clear yet what form the talks might take.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are at a high level. On Thursday, South Korean soldiers exchanged machinegun fire with North Korean troops along their heavily armed border. The South Koreans accused their northern counterparts of firing first. No injuries were reported.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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