US, China make new push over North Korea

TOKYO – The United States and China made new diplomatic efforts yesterday to jumpstart talks with North Korea, which warned it was ready for all-out war after test-firing seven missiles last week.

With the UN Security Council set to decide later in the day when to vote on a contested resolution aimed at punishing the secretive state for the tests, US and Chinese delegations held talks in Japan and North Korea, respectively. The top US envoy on North Korea, Christopher Hill, met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo a day after enigmatic North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said he would not back down under US pressure.”North Korea has a choice of whether to go for continued isolation or to join the international community.I hope they will make the right choice,” Hill said.North Korea agreed in September to end its nuclear programme in exchange for security guarantees and aid but walked out of talks two months later over US sanctions on a bank accused of laundering money for Pyongyang.”We have a process, an agreement in principle – the Beijing agreement last September,” said Hill.”What the North Koreans need to do is to come to the next session of the six-party talks and begin to implement that agreement,” he told reporters after meeting Aso.Japan wants an early Security Council vote on a resolution that could pave the way for fresh international sanctions against North Korea, whose missiles landed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on Wednesday.The United States, which also supports the UN resolution, has been pushing for a hard line against the North, named by US President George W Bush in 2002 as part of the international “axis of evil.”- Nampa-AFPThe top US envoy on North Korea, Christopher Hill, met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo a day after enigmatic North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said he would not back down under US pressure.”North Korea has a choice of whether to go for continued isolation or to join the international community.I hope they will make the right choice,” Hill said.North Korea agreed in September to end its nuclear programme in exchange for security guarantees and aid but walked out of talks two months later over US sanctions on a bank accused of laundering money for Pyongyang.”We have a process, an agreement in principle – the Beijing agreement last September,” said Hill.”What the North Koreans need to do is to come to the next session of the six-party talks and begin to implement that agreement,” he told reporters after meeting Aso.Japan wants an early Security Council vote on a resolution that could pave the way for fresh international sanctions against North Korea, whose missiles landed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on Wednesday.The United States, which also supports the UN resolution, has been pushing for a hard line against the North, named by US President George W Bush in 2002 as part of the international “axis of evil.”- Nampa-AFP