China Urges N. Korea to Resume Talks

BEIJING — Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday stepped up pressure on North Korea to return to nuclear talks, telling its visiting premier that dialogue is the only way to settle the dispute.

Hu offered Beijing’s help in arranging new talks as he met with Premier Pak Pong Chu, the official New China News Agency reported.

Hu told Pak that “dialogue is the only correct choice for peacefully resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula,” the agency said. It added that Hu had promised to see that Pyongyang’s “rational concerns” were resolved -- a reference to the North’s demands for security guarantees if it gives up making nuclear weapons.

Washington has been urging China to use its status as the North’s main aid donor to prod Pyongyang back to the six- nation talks, which also include Japan, South Korea and Russia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested Monday that North Korea might face sanctions if it did not cooperate.

In Waco, Texas, President Bush suggested there was no deadline for North Korea to return to the table.

But Bush said North Korean leader Kim Jong Il must understand that the other five parties to the talks want a Korean peninsula that is free of nuclear weapons.