China warns N. Korea over missile

[David]

SHENZHEN, China (AP) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged North Korea on Wednesday to refrain from test launching a long-range missile, saying such an act would aggravate regional tensions.

Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Wen said that China was concerned about recent events in North Korea.

"We are paying close attention to the information showing that there might be a possible missile-testing launch by North Korea, and we are following the developments of the situation very closely," Wen said.

"We hope that the various parties will proceed from the greater interest of maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and refrain from taking measures that will worsen the situation," he said.

Wen was the highest-level Chinese official to speak out in the two weeks since intelligence reports showed that North Korea had placed a long-range Taepodong-2 missile on a launch pad.

China is a critical ally of North Korea, providing food, fuel and other economic and financial assistance.

Washington, Tokyo and, on Wednesday, Australia's Howard have all urged Beijing to take an active role in pressuring Pyongyang to back down from testing a missile.

Earlier, South Korea's foreign minister urged China to use its influence over Pyongyang to dissuade the North from proceeding.

South Korea's Ban Ki-moon and his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing held closed-door talks for about an hour Tuesday, discussing strategies to sway Pyongyang not to test-fire the missile and resume six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

"We should focus efforts on dissuading North Korea from test-firing a missile," Li said.

Since the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programs emerged in late 2002, China has largely refrained from threats to halt the fuel and food deliveries and bank credits that sustain Pyongyang.

Six-nation talks aimed at resolving the issue of North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled since November over a dispute surrounding U.S. financial restrictions on the North.

Li told Ban that getting North Korea back to talks on its nuclear weapons ambitions was a top priority and that efforts should be focused on ensuring Pyongyang avoids firing a missile.

Meanwhile, North Korea on Tuesday said the United States was to blame for a "new nuclear arms race."

"The U.S. is the principal criminal of the present nuclear arms race, the very one who harasses world peace and security," the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary, according to the official Korea Central News Agency.

Recent intelligence reports have said North Korea may be fueling a Taepodong-2, one of its most advanced missiles, at a launch site on the country's northeastern coast.

The missile is believed to be capable of reaching parts of the United States.

The North shocked the world in 1998 by firing a missile that flew over northern Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

It has been under a self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests since 1999, but has since test-fired many short-range missiles.