Kim Jong-Il Meets China's Top Diplomat
Voice of America reports:
China's official media say the nation's top diplomat has held "candid and in-depth" talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Thursday's report by Xinhua news agency comes amid mounting pressure for China to rein in its North Korean ally. U.S. military chief of staff Mike Mullen renewed that message Thursday in Tokyo, where he urged Japan to join the United States and South Korea in facing any future North Korean aggression.
Xinhua, in a brief report from the North Korean capital, said Kim and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo "reached consensus on bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula." Hours earlier, U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen said that China must do more to lead North Korea away from the escalating threat of war.
Both North and South Korea have exchanged threats and staged artillery exercises since North Korean forces shelled a South Korean island last month, killing four people. A five-day South Korean exercise concludes on Friday.
Mullen was in Tokyo for talks with Japanese Chief of Staff Ryoichi Oriki and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa. He told South Korean officials a day earlier that he hoped Japan would join them in planning and taking part in military exercises to answer any new North Korean attack.
Mullen also repeated the U.S. complaint that China has "enabled" North Korea's reckless behavior by failing to condemn it forcefully. He said China "must lead and guide North Korea to a better future."
