Chinese nuclear envoy reported to head for North Korea

China's top nuclear negotiator is expected to head to North Korea later on Monday as part of Beijing's efforts to restart six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, a diplomatic source said.

"Chances are high that Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei will fly into Pyongyang on a Air China flight that departs (Beijing) at 5:20 p.m. [0720 gmt]," the source said.

His trip is aimed at tempting North Koreans to reverse their months-long refusal to join the six-party talks also involving South Korea, the US, Russia and Japan, added the source.

Neither the Chinese nor North Korean authorities have announced Wu's trip plan yet. North Korea watchers say the two sides are likely to stay silent on Wu's trip until it ends, in line with their diplomatic practices.

South Korean government officials refused to confirm Wu's schedule.

China, chair of the nuclear talks and the closest ally of the North, has come under heavy pressure to broker a breakthrough in the deadlocked denuclearization process.

Wu's trip, if made, comes amid growing speculation that North Korea may be finally trying to break its diplomatic isolation that has deepened since its long-range rocket launch in May and a second nuclear test the following month.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met former US President Bill Clinton in Pyongyang early this month and accepted Washington's offer of an amnesty for two American reporters who had been detained there since March.

North Korea also freed a South Korean worker at the inter-Korean industrial park in Kaesong last week after months of captivity.

Earlier on Monday, the North's state media reported a set of initial measures to normalize cross-border tours and the reunion of separated families. The announcement came shortly after a meeting between Kim and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, who is on a trip to the North Korean capital.

Meanwhile, the Chinese envoy Wu made a tour of Russia, the US, Japan, and South Korea in July to seek ways to jump-start the six-way talks.

Wu reportedly made his latest visit to North Korea in February to dissuade North Koreans from firing a long-range rocket. But the North went ahead with a launch.

Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0043 gmt 17 Aug 09

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