North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun returned to Pyongyang on Tuesday after an eight-day trip to China, according to diplomatic sources.
During the trip, Paek looked around China's economic heartland and sought ways to break the impasse in the six-nation talks on his country's nuclear weapons program in a series of meetings with Chinese leaders, the sources said.
In talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing, Paek explained Pyongyang's efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis, they said. Details of the meeting have yet to be disclosed.
During a weekly briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao described Paek's trip to China as successful, saying that both sides held in-depth discussions on the North's nuclear issue, which helped them expand mutual understanding of international politics.
Before his departure for Pyongyang, Paek visited Guangzhou, the administrative center of China's Guangdong Province, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-il traveled during his secret trip to China in January.
The six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the U.S.,
China, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since November, with Pyongyang protesting U.S. accusations that North Korea is counterfeiting American dollars and trafficking contraband. Beijing, June 6 (Yonhap News)
N. Korean foreign minister finishes Chinese visit |
