China: Time for 6-Party Korea Talks

As South Korea and the US begin naval exercises prompted by North Korean aggression, China is urging an emergency renewal of six-party talks on the matter, reports the New York Times. China wants to meet with North and South Korea, Japan, Russia, and the US in Beijing in the coming weeks, said its foreign ministry at a press conference today.

Meanwhile, a top Chinese diplomat has returned from Seoul after talks with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, who called on China to “maintain a more responsible and fair attitude in its policies involving the two Koreas.” Following the meeting, which it said went well, China’s foreign ministry says Beijing is “opposed to all actions that undermine peace and stability on the peninsula”—but it still hasn’t reprimanded North Korea's leadership.
(More China stories.)