China urges US, North Korea back to talks
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-06 08:41

China urged the United States and North Korea on Thursday to resolve a dispute over sanctions so that talks on dismantling the North's nuclear programs can resume.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Beijing hoped for a quick resumption of the six-nation negotiations that also involve Japan, South Korea and Russia. But he suggested that while China stood ready to do its share, the United States and North Korea also need to make a good-faith effort to resolve disagreements.

The plodding, painstaking negotiations, which last convened in November, have recently stalled over sanctions Washington placed on a Macao-based bank and eight North Korean companies alleged to have taken part in currency counterfeiting or weapons proliferation. The North said anew this week that the sanctions must be lifted before it would return to the nuclear talks.

Qin, without naming Washington or Pyongyang, said "China hoped that the relevant parties can proceed from the general interest, respect each other and consult with each other on an equal footing."

China has invested prestige in the talks, acting as a mediator between Washington, an important trading partner for Beijing, and North Korea, China's neighbor.