China hopes N. Korea talks can resume by mid-year

Asian Defense News: BEIJING (AFP) - – A senior Chinese diplomat said Friday he hopes stalled North Korea nuclear disarmament talks could resume by the end of June, but admitted he was not sure the parties would meet the target.

International efforts have mounted in recent weeks to coax North Korea back to the on-off six-party talks which have been on ice since Pyongyang stormed out 11 months ago.

"Utmost efforts will be made to restore the six-party talks in the first half of the year," China's envoy for Korean affairs Wu Dawei said on the sidelines of the country's annual parliamentary meetings.

"The six-party talks mechanism still has vitality," the state Xinhua news agency quoted Wu as saying.

Wu had told the China Daily on Thursday that while he was optimistic, it was "difficult to say" whether the timetable would be realised.

He attributed the deadlock to a "lack of trust" between the parties.

China is the communist North's sole major ally and host of the talks which began in 2003. The forum brings together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

China hopes N. Korea talks can resume by mid-year

The North has set two conditions for returning to dialogue: the lifting of UN sanctions and a US commitment to discuss a formal peace treaty on the Korean peninsula.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo say the North must first return to the negotiating table and show it is serious about giving up its nuclear drive.

The United States said this week it was considering whether to issue a visa for North Korea's top nuclear negotiator, who is believed to be seeking talks to break the deadlock.

Wu said he had recently met with the negotiators from the other five nations involved in the talks, and put forth China's proposals for how to get everyone back to the table.