South Korea's Ban in China for talks on North
Source: Reuters
(Recasts after meetings) BEIJING, Oct 27 (Reuters) - South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon held talks in Beijing on Friday with Chinese leaders on U.N. reform and how to implement sanctions against North Korea after this month's nuclear test. Ban, who takes over as United Nations secretary-general in January, met his counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan and President Hu Jintao during his one-day visit. "Since the Security Council has already adopted the resolution (on sanctions), how to implement the Security Council resolution will also be a topic," Wang Guangya, China's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters at the airport after greeting Ban. "But for China, we will strictly implement the Security Council resolution," he said. There were no immediate details on Ban's discussions with Chinese officials. China and South Korea, the North's closest neighbours, both supported weapons and financial sanctions passed against Pyongyang, but questions remain as to how they will be implemented in the face of threats from North Korea and fears of instability. North Korea warned of the risk of war earlier this week if South Korea joined the sanctions, but on Thursday Seoul went ahead with a ban on the entry of North Koreans involved in Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programmes. But it has yet to say whether it will suspend projects it operates in the North that provide a connection to the outside world -- and hard currency -- for Pyongyang. China also fears that squeezing North Korea too tightly could cause an economic collapse that would destabilise the region and potentially send a flood of refugees across its borders. Tang, who visited Pyongyang last week, returned with a warning that goading from the international community could push North Korea to defy warnings and carry out a second nuclear test.
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
