N Korea has 'positive attitude' on talks: China

China said on Tuesday that North Korea had agreed to help prevent any escalation of tensions with the South and had a "positive attitude" about the resumption of talks aimed at ending its nuclear drive.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters that officials in Pyongyang had expressed that view during a visit last week by State Councillor Dai Bingguo, who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

That trip came amid high tensions between the two Koreas sparked when the North shelled a South Korean island on November 23, killing four people including two civilians.

"The two sides believe that all parties should keep calm and exercise restraint, take a responsible attitude to avoid further escalation of tensions and play a constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability," Jiang said.

The two sides "will continue to push forward the six-party talks process committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula (and) realising the normalisation of state-to-state relations among countries involved," she said.

The spokeswoman said North Korea "has taken a positive attitude" on a resumption of the stalled negotiations bringing together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Beijing has been under renewed pressure to rein in its ally Pyongyang in the wake of the deadly shelling.

The United States, South Korea and Japan gave the cold shoulder to a Chinese proposal for emergency six-way negotiations, saying North Korea must demonstrate its commitment to change first.

US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg is to visit Beijing this week to press for stronger action from China.

Regional tensions also spiked after Pyongyang disclosed a new uranium enrichment programme that has further sparked fears it could produce more material to make nuclear bombs.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a meeting Monday in Moscow with his visiting North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-Chun, expressed "deep concern" about the new capability and urged Pyongyang to comply with UN Security Council resolutions banning its nuclear activities.

In Beijing, Jiang said: "As for the uranium enrichment programme, we hold that parties should implement relevant UN resolutions and take a responsible attitude to carry out international obligations."

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