Japan seeks vote on N.Korea resolution

AUDRA ANG / Associated Press | July 13 2006

The U.S. nuclear envoy said Thursday that Washington was likely to give Chinese diplomatic efforts over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs only a few more days before pushing for a tough U.N. resolution.

"My sense is we're down to a number of days," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing.

His comments came as Japan pressed for a vote on its resolution threatening sanctions for the North's missiles tests last week, while China and Russia introduced a rival proposal, intensifying jockeying over a unified response.

Backers of the Japanese-sponsored resolution had agreed to postpone a vote to give Beijing time to lobby Pyongyang to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks and declare a moratorium on missile tests. But North Korea appears to have rejected diplomatic overtures by a Chinese delegation, including nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei, that is visiting Pyongyang.

"So far they don't seem to be interested in listening, much less doing anything to address the situation," Hill said at a separate briefing.

China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, said the delegation, which will return Friday, delivered a message from China's leaders expressing concern over the tests "and also what we considered the North Koreans should do to make diplomacy succeed."

But Wang said they had not received any feedback.

"The Chinese are as baffled as we are," Hill said. They "sent a good delegation up to Pyongyang, showed a real interest in trying to work with the DPRK - but it does not appear to have been reciprocated," he said, using the initials for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

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