N. Korean leader sought unconditional 6-nation crisis talks: sources+

BEIJING, Dec. 14 Kyodo -
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a senior Chinese envoy last week that he
favors unconditional talks among the two Koreas, the United States, China Japan
and Russia to reduce heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula, diplomatic
sources said Tuesday.
The sources said Kim's position on China's proposal for urgent talks among the
chief delegates to the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's
denuclearization was conveyed to Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo during his
Dec. 8-9 visit to Pyongyang as part of China's diplomatic efforts to ease
tensions on the peninsula.
China's proposal has met with a less-than-enthusiastic response in Washington,
Seoul and Tokyo, which want North Korea to first cease its provocative actions
and take positive steps toward denuclearization.
But the sources said Kim rejected such imposition of conditions for the
China-proposed six-way crisis talks.
Earlier Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu Jiang told
reporters at a regular press briefing that in Dai's meetings in Pyongyang, the
North Korean side reacted with a ''positive attitude'' to China's proposal.
Dai traveled to the North Korea's capital amid heightened tensions in the wake
of its deadly shelling of a South Korean island on Nov. 23 and the revelation
that the North has completed a new uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon
nuclear complex.
Since those developments, China has been under strong pressure to rein in its
traditional ally.
Jiang said both Beijing and Pyongyang ''believe the parties should keep calm
and exercise restraint, take a responsible attitude to avoid further escalation
of the tensions and play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and
stability on the peninsula.''
She said they also consider it important to ''push forward the six-party talks
process, make efforts to realize denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and
realize the normalization of relations between countries involved.''
The six-party denuclearization talks were last held in December 2008.
==Kyodo
2010-12-14 23:34:28