S. Korea, China discuss N. Korea policy after envoy's Pyongyang visit

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China discussed policies toward North Korea after a high-ranking Chinese envoy visited Pyongyang last month in signs of warmer relations between North Korea and China, a senior Seoul diplomat involved in the talks said Wednesday.

Hwang Joon-kook, South Korea's top nuclear envoy, held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei on Tuesday during which they also exchanged views on efforts to resume long-stalled multilateral nuclear talks with North Korea.

Political ties between North Korea and its major ally, China, have been strained following the North's third nuclear test in early 2013. Relations showed signs of warming after Liu Yunshan, the Chinese Communist Party's fifth-ranked official, held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang last month.

"Since the Pyongyang visit by Liu, signs of steady and low-level changes in North Korea-China relations have been observed," the diplomat said on the condition of anonymity.

The diplomat said China could use such momentum to help address North Korea's nuclear issue.

The diplomat, however, declined to give details of Tuesday's talks.

North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests so far, has not shown any signs of giving up its nuclear weapons program. Instead, the reclusive country has continued to advance its nuclear capability.

Diplomatic efforts to resume the six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambition have produced no tangible results.

The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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