N. Korean leader says he has no plans for more nuclear tests: Beijing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has told a visiting Chinese envoy that his country has no immediate plans for a second nuclear test, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters Tuesday.

"Chairman Kim told State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan that the DPRK currently has no plans to conduct a second nuclear test," Liu Jianchao told a regular press briefing, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The North Korean leader is often referred to by his official title of Chairman of the National Defense Commission.

Kim's remarks were made in a meeting with Tang, who traveled to Pyongyang last week as a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, according to Liu.

The North Korean leader, however, hinted at a possible second nuclear test, saying "North Korea may take further measures" if others continue to apply pressure on it, according to Liu.

North Korea announced on Oct. 9 that it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test that day, prompting international condemnation and U.N. sanctions.

Earlier reports said the North Korean leader expressed regret for the nuclear test during his meeting with the Chinese envoy last Thursday.

But the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed the reports, saying they are "certainly not accurate."

"We haven't heard any information that Kim Jong-Il apologized for the test," Liu said.

This is the first time China has confirmed the North Korean leader's remarks that Pyongyang has no immediate plans for a second nuclear test.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had downplayed earlier news reports on Kim's remarks, saying she had not heard anything to that effect from the Chinese state councilor, Tang.

"I don't know whether or not Kim Jong-Il said any such thing," Rice told reporters Saturday while en route to Moscow from Beijing.

Rice held a meeting Friday with Beijing's special envoy to the communist North, who, after his return on Thursday, said his visit had "not been in vain."

Earlier reports had also said the reclusive North Korean leader has offered to return to international negotiations over his country's nuclear ambitions in return for ensuing U.S. gestures of reconciliation.

The foreign ministry spokesman said the communist state has expressed a willingness to return to the stalled nuclear talks, but only after certain conditions are met.

"They are willing to return, but these questions, including financial sanctions, need to be solved," Liu said. Pyongyang has been staying away from the nuclear disarmament talks for nearly a year, demanding Washington first lift financial sanctions on a Macau bank accused of helping the North launder counterfeit U.S. dollars.

The talks also involve South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.

Beijing, Oct. 24 (Yonhap News)