Beijing, Aug 07: Chinese vice-foreign minister Wang Yi today began a three-day visit to neighbouring North Korea to finalise plans for holding the first six-party multilateral talks on Pyongyang's nuclear issue. The two sides will discuss arrangements for the six-party talks on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and exchange views on bilateral ties, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said. Wang is making the visit at the invitation of the ministry of foreign affairs of North Korea, Kong said while commenting on the previously unannounced visit. Wang as well as his immediate boss, Dai Bingguo, who is executive vice foreign minister, had played a key role in efforts to bring North Korea to the negotiating table. North Korea, which had been holding out for face-to-face talks with the US, agreed to join the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia in six-way talks in Beijing.


A date for the Beijing talks has yet to be announced. Diplomatic sources say the first six-way talks could take place here in the first week of September though China, the host, wanted to start them in the third or fourth week of August.


China is the isolated North's closest ally and main source of its food and energy. Wang's visit to Pyongyang comes ahead of Chinese foreign minister Li Zhaoxing's scheduled visit to Japan and South Korea next week.


Bureau Report