China urges emergency six-way consultations over North Korea

Monday, 29 November 2010 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

BEIJING, (Reuters) - China called on Sunday for emergency consultations among six governments in moribund talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear programme, adding that they would not amount to a full restart of the negotiations.

The call was made by a senior Chinese diplomat, Wu Dawei, at a brief news conference. The stalled talks bring together North and South Korea, host China, the United States, Japan and Russia. “Although the proposed consultations do not mean the resumption of the six-party talks, we hope they will create conditions for their resumption,” said Wu, China’s special representative on Korean affairs. “The members of the six-party talks are deeply concerned with the situation in the Korean peninsula,” Wu told the hastily organised briefing. The step appears to be part of Beijing’s effort to ease tensions between the two Koreas without alienating its prickly ally, Pyongyang, which depends on Beijing for economic and political support.