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China urges US, North Korea back to talks
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-06 08:41
China urged the United States and North Korea on Thursday to resolve a
dispute over sanctions so that talks on dismantling the North's nuclear programs
can resume.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing hoped for a quick
resumption of the six-nation negotiations that also involve Japan, South Korea
and Russia. But he suggested that while China stood ready to do its share, the
United States and North Korea also need to make a good-faith effort to resolve
disagreements.
The plodding, painstaking negotiations, which last convened in November, have
recently stalled over sanctions Washington placed on a Macao-based bank and
eight North Korean companies alleged to have taken part in currency
counterfeiting or weapons proliferation. The North said anew this week that the
sanctions must be lifted before it would return to the nuclear talks.
Qin, without naming Washington or Pyongyang, said "China hoped that the
relevant parties can proceed from the general interest, respect each other and
consult with each other on an equal footing."
China has invested prestige in the talks, acting as a mediator between
Washington, an important trading partner for Beijing, and North Korea, China's
neighbor.
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