S. Korean nuclear envoy to visit Beijing for talks on N. Korea

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator was to head to
Beijing later Tuesday for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on the
crisis involving North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.
"I plan to go to China, probably in the evening today. But the exact itinerary
has yet to be fixed," Wi Sung-lac said.
He said he is pushing to meet Wu on Wednesday in what would be their first
meeting since March.
"We have a range of issues to discuss in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test
(on May 25)," Wi said, adding the U.N.'s ongoing move for sanctions on the
communist nation will be also discussed. He declined to give more details before
the planned consultations.
Endorsement by China, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, is
considered critical to adopting a new resolution against Pyongyang. The U.S. and
Japan, with South Korea's support, drafted a tough resolution calling for the
inspection of North Korea's air and sea shipments of suspicious cargo and a
freeze of overseas assets. But China, the North's traditional ally, is
reportedly opposed to stern measures that may destabilize the impoverished
neighbor.
"The ball has been tossed into the North Korean court. We are waiting for China's
response," a South Korean foreign ministry official said on condition of
anonymity.
A U.S. government delegation, led by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg,
had recently visited Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing, seeking ideas on how to deal with
the recalcitrant state.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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