Rice says North Korea seeks to escalate crisis

Moscow, Oct 21: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today China's special envoy had said nothing to her about a North Korean pledge to refrain from further nuclear tests.

South Korean and Japanese news reports yesterday suggested that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told China's special envoy Tang Jiaxuan this week that he planned no further nuclear tests, indicating Beijing had achieved a diplomatic breakthrough.

''Tang did not tell me that Kim Jong-il either apologised for the test or said that he would not ever test again,'' Rice told reporters travelling with her from Beijing to Moscow, where North Korea tops her agenda.

Reuters

Related Stories