China says dialogue the key
By Beijing Correspondent Lisa Rose Weaver
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The foreign ministers of China and South Korea have discussed in a telephone call the emerging crisis in North Korea, China's state run news agency reports.
The report about the Saturday night phone call reiterated China's position that dialogue between all concerned parties is the desired method of dealing with North Korea's apparent efforts to pursue its nuclear weapons program.
The report made no specific reference to South Korea's announcement that it plans to send an envoy to Beijing, but the timing of Beijing's statement suggested China is included in ongoing talks among the countries surrounding the isolated Stalinist state.
Calls to China's Foreign Ministry for further clarification went unanswered.
"We attach great importance to recent developments," the report quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao as saying.
"We believe the 1994 nuclear accord is useful for ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula. All parties involved have the responsibility to abide by the accord. We hope that through dialogue the rising tension of the situation can be defused."
The accord to which Liu referred is the 1994 Agreed Framework, which called for North Korea to freeze an earlier nuclear weapons program in exchange for the United States' promise to provide fuel oil and build two safer light water nuclear reactors to produce power.
