UNITED NATIONS: China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters yesterday that the Security Council must give a "firm, constructive, appropriate but prudent response" to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after its nuclear test on Monday.

"I think there have to be some punitive actions, but also I think these actions have to be appropriate," he said.

Wang spoke before a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council China, Britain, France, Russia and the United States plus Japan to discuss a US-proposed draft Security Council resolution that would impose an array of sanctions, including a ban on imports of military goods and luxury items.

Meanwhile, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and prominent Democrat urged the Bush administration to abandon its long-standing refusal to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who served in President Bill Clinton's administration and has visited the DPRK, said President George W. Bush should next move to direct talks.

"I would engage directly in face-to-face talks," Richardson said on NBC's "Today" show. "That's when you deliver your toughest message."