Rice arrives in Beijing on North Korea push

BEIJING, Oct 20 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a trip to China today, aiming to convince sceptical Beijing to escalate pressure on North Korea over its nuclear programme.

Rice's visit comes a day after Beijing, Pyongyang's biggest ally, sent a high-level delegation to North Korea to deliver what US officials said was a ''very strong message'' after North Korea's nuclear test last week.

The top US diplomat is expected to get a readout of that meeting led by former foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan who held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

US officials tried to lower expectations over the outcome of the Chinese envoy's meeting and said they did not expect any major announcement such as a return to stalled six-party talks.

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