North Korea on agenda for Bush, China's Hu

BEIJING, Nov 8 (Reuters) A meeting between US President George W Bush and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, next week will help lay the groundwork for six-party talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons, a US diplomat said.

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, in Beijing for ''strategic'' talks, told Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo that North Korea and its nuclear weapons were on his agenda.

''We are very interested in also talking about what we can do to defuse the problem of North Korea's nuclear ambition,'' he told Dai in front of reporters before entering talks.

''In that vein, I look forward very much to the meeting next week between President Hu Jintao and President Bush in Hanoi.'' Bush, Hu and other regional leaders will gather in the Vietnamese capital for their annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, and North Korea's announcement that it will return to nuclear disarmament talks is sure to be a focus.

After a three-way meeting in Beijing last week with China and the United States, the North agreed to return to six-party talks that also group Japan, South Korea and Russia. There is still no fixed date for the negotiations.

GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY Burns earlier met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi as part of the ''strategic dialogue'' between the two countries intended to ease friction over trade disputes, military plans and regional security.

''Together we have responsibility for global peace and global security,'' China's Xinhua news agency quoted Burns as saying.

Burns was also to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing later in the day.

Dai was part of the Chinese delegation that visited Pyongyang last month following North Korea's Oct 9 nuclear test.

North Korea pulled out of the six-party talks a year ago in anger over US actions against North Korea's suspected illicit activities, including counterfeiting and money laundering. It came back to the talks on the premise the US financial crackdown on its firms would be discussed.

Adding to the flurry of diplomacy over North Korea, South Korean media reported that the North's first Vice Foreign Minister, Kang Sok-ju, was holding talks in Beijing with Foreign Minister Li.

A diplomatic source in Tokyo said Kang arrived in Beijing on Tuesday morning and spent about three hours at the North Korean embassy before taking a flight for Moscow.

The source had no details on whether or not Kang had met or talked with Chinese or other officials.

China's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the report, but Japan's chief cabinet secretary said Kang's visit could be a positive sign.

''The priority is for North Korea to return to the six-party talks,'' Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference. ''If the visit was to hold discussions in preparation for the talks, it is a step forward and we would welcome it.'' REUTERS SSC VV1447