International   

Powell, Chinese leader discuss N. Korea

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE April 24. Even as the in-camera talks in Beijing on the North Korean nuclear issue intensified, China and the United States consulted each other over the sensitive subject outside the framework of the ongoing delegation-level "tripartite'' parleys.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, and the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, are understood to have discussed the North Korean tangle over the telephone. The primary focus of their conversation was the best way to address the issues concerning North Korea's suspected nuclear-weapons capabilities. The usefulness of the ongoing three-day parleys in Beijing was apparently discussed too by Mr. Li and Gen. Powell. With the tripartite talks expected to conclude tomorrow, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu Jianchao, said in Beijing today that these talks were conducive to the enhancement of mutual understanding among the parties concerned. Noting that "persistent efforts'' would be required from "various parties'' to resolve the issue, which had got embedded in a "complicated historical context'', Mr. Liu expressed the hope that the relevant parties would play "constructive roles''.

It was against this background that he underlined that China had invited both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the U.S. to meet in Beijing for the current talks. While neither the spokesman nor the chief delegates from both the DPRK and the U.S. would indicate anything that might be seen as a progress about the parleys, the general expectation in the Asia-Pacific diplomatic circles was that the talks could help set the stage for further exchanges of views among these three countries.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Situation turns grim as toll goes up
• 'Armitage visit will cover all aspects'
• LTTE pursuing violent, separatist agenda: U.S.
• Syria still suspicious of U.S. intent
• Pak. House faces dissolution?
• Powell, Chinese leader discuss N. Korea
• Govt. process by next week: Garner
• Concern over population decline in Russia
• 5 indicted for plot to kill Musharraf
• Keep off Iraq, U.S. tells Iran
• Winnie could face 15-year jail
• 'Labour MP got money from Benazir Govt.'
• Tip of the iceberg?
• Pak. still supporting terror groups in J&K: CIA

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu