S. Korean foreign minister to visit China for talks on N. Korea

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan plans to visit China next week for talks on North Korea amid signs the communist state is preparing to test-fire a long-range missile, informed sources said Sunday.

North Korea's move has already been strongly denounced by neighbouring countries,
including Japan and the United States.
The visit will likely be made Feb. 24-25, according to the sources.
"The visit will be part of consultations among the neighboring countries as North
Korea appears to be moving to launch a missile," a source said, asking not to be
identified.
Yu's trip comes amid a flurry of regional diplomatic activity. The Foreign
Minister is also set to meet with his U.S. counterpart Hillary Clinton, who is
due here later this week for a two-day visit. Yu held talks with Japan's foreign
minister Hirofumi Nakasone here on Wednesday.
The South Korean minister is expected to ask Beijing, Pyongyang's closest
communist ally, to discourage North Korea from firing a missile, a move that had
led to significant escalation of tension in the region as well as further
isolation of the reclusive North in the past.
North Korea has a self-imposed moratorium on tests of long-range missiles, but
that did little to help stop the communist nation from test-firing long-range
Taepodong missiles in 1998 and 2006.
Intelligence officials of Seoul and Washington believe the communist North is now
preparing to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile, which is said to have a range of
some 6,000 kilometers, enough to reach Alaska, and a payload of 500 kilograms,
enough to carry a small nuclear warhead.
Pyongyang conducted its first-ever nuclear test in late 2006 despite six-nation
talks aimed at getting North Korea rid of its nuclear programs, to which it was a
member. The talks also include South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United
States.
bdk@yna.co