China Proposes 200 M. Dlrs in Aid to N. Korea

Seoul, June 6 (Jiji Press)--China has offered to provide North Korea with food and crude oil worth a total of 200 million dollars on condition that Pyongyang returns to six-party nuclear talks, informed sources told Jiji Press on Thursday. The proposal was made when Choe Ryong Hae visited China as special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on May 22-24, said the sources familiar with relations between the two countries. Beijing plans to provide the assistance in stages and halt it if North Korea fails to soften its stance, according to the sources. The proposal may lead nowhere, as Pyongyang has shown no intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions although it stresses its readiness to talk. The move by China appears to be an attempt to avoid a further chilling of its relationship with North Korea so as to ensure stability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing also hopes to soften Pyongyang's attitude ahead of China's summit meetings with the United States and South Korea scheduled for later this month. Taking into consideration a possible response from the international community, China limited the assistance to a level it can claim is for humanitarian purposes, one of the sources said. Some observers say that China's attitude toward North Korea has changed. They cite examples such as a recent decision by Beijing's state-run Bank of China to suspended transactions with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank in accordance with a U.N. Security Council resolution. But the source said Beijing's approach remains basically unchanged. END