China urges easing of tension over N Korea

SHENZHEN, China, June 28: China's Premier Wen Jiabao yerterday called for a peaceful solution to the missile and nuclear crises on the Korean peninsula, and said all sides should work to ease tensions.

Wen made the comments to reporters after holding talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard that covered bilateral issues and also the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.

''We are closely following these developments,'' Wen said when asked about reports North Korea may be planning to test-fire a long-range missile.

''We hope all parties will consider the stability of the Korean peninsula and refrain from taking measures that will worsen the situation,'' he told reporters.

Separately, a senior Chinese military official was quoted as telling a Japanese delegation on Wednesday that China did not have information about North Korea's plans, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.

''We do not know when or under what situation it will be fired.

We are trying to collect information,'' Xu Caihou, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission, was quoted as saying.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, in Beijing for talks yesterday, urged China to try to persuade North Korea against a launch, which Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have said would be a grave threat to regional security.

China, a traditional ally of North Korea and the source of much of its food and fuel aid, has been more muted in its response, saying all sides should persist with dialogue.

Wen also urged the early resumption of six-party talks grouping China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia, aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear programmes.

The talks have been stalled since last November, with North Korea saying it is staying away in anger over Washington's crackdown on financial institutions it suspects of assisting Pyongyang in money laundering and counterfeiting.

Reuters