Beijing, Feb 24: US Secretary of State Colin Powell today started an intensive round of talks with Chinese leaders to persuade Beijing to support Washington's efforts to disarm Iraq as well as North Korea of weapons of mass destruction. Powell, on the second stop of an Asian trip, is expected to urge China not to veto a second us-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council that would authorise use of force to disarm Iraq and topple its President, Saddam Hussein, diplomatic sources here said. China, in tune with Russia and France, has favoured continued UN weapons inspections in Iraq saying all options under the UN resolution 1441 have not yet been exhausted.


On North Korea's nuclear issue, a topic that has caused serious concern in Japan and South Korea, Powell is expected to urge China, Pyongyang's ally, to use its diplomatic and economic clout to the maximum so that the reclusive communist nation would curb its secret nuclear weapons programme.
Powell is currently holding talks with his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan and he would also call on Chinese President Jiang Zemin as well as his Deputy Hu Jintao, official sources said. Bureau Report