China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have held 
"in-depth" discussions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Foreign 
Ministry said on Thursday, October 19. [Full coverage on N.Korea 
nuclear crisis] 
A special envoy of President Hu Jintao, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, met 
DPRK leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang yesterday morning, spokesman Liu Jianchao 
told a regular news briefing. 
 
 
   China's State Councillor Tang 
 Jiaxuan (3rd L, front row), special envoy of Chinese President Hu 
 Jintao, poses with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (4th R, front row) 
 in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this video grab released on October 19, 
 2006. The United States said on Thursday it was open to negotiations with 
 North Korea over its nuclear ambitions as attention focused on whether 
 China had managed to persuade the North to defuse the mounting crisis. 
 [Reuters] | 
"The two sides had an in-depth 
exchange of views on China-DPRK relations and the current situation on the 
Korean Peninsula," Liu said. 
The meeting was of "great significance" as it was held in the backdrop of the 
peninsula undergoing major changes, he said, referring to the nuclear test 
conducted by the DPRK on October 9. 
The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution last weekend 
imposing sanctions against the DPRK, which include a call to inspect cargo on 
ships sailing to and from the DPRK. 
"Tang's visit to the DPRK is extremely important for bilateral ties and the 
current situation on the peninsula," Liu said. 
Responding to reports that claimed the Six-Party Talks could end following 
the nuclear test, Liu said China is still "full of hope" that the talks could 
resume. 
Tang delivered a message from President Hu to Kim on the nuclear issue, 
according to the spokesman, who did not reveal the content. 
Tang arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, accompanied by Vice-Foreign Minister 
Wu Dawei, who is also China's top negotiator at the stalled Six-Party Talks, and 
Dai Bingguo, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Communist Party of 
China Central Committee. 
Prior to meeting Kim, Tang, as the president's special envoy, met US 
President George W. Bush in Washington and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 
Moscow last week. 
There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in response to the DPRK's 
nuclear test. 
In Seoul, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Republic of Korea (ROK) 
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who warned earlier yesterday that a second DPRK 
nuclear test would trigger a "much more serious" global response. 
Ban, slated to be the next UN secretary-general, also said Pyongyang should 
not make further moves that would "aggravate the situation." 
The ROK's Yonhap news agency reported that Seoul would bolster inspections of 
cargo heading to the DPRK and halt subsidies to a joint tourism project in the 
DPRK. 
Rice and Ban called on the DPRK to return unconditionally to the Six-Party 
Talks, which also include China, Japan and Russia. However, Rice said real 
progress would have to be made if the talks were to resume. 
"The US has no desire to do anything to escalate the situation," Rice said. 
"We want to leave open the path of negotiation, we don't want the crisis to 
escalate." She is expected to arrive in Beijing today.