here's the latest update on this issue:
Chinese President Appeals to North Korea
By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer
1 hour ago
BEIJING - China's president issued an unusual public appeal Tuesday to a visiting North Korean leader to avoid aggravating tensions with its missile test program, as the U.S. and Japan urged Beijing to press its ally Pyongyang for concessions.
Meanwhile, U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill arrived in Beijing for his second visit in a week amid urgent diplomatic exchanges, saying talks were in a "crucial period." He said he had no plans to meet with the North Korean official.
President Hu Jintao told the visiting vice president of the North's parliament, Yang Hyong Sop, "We are against any actions that will aggravate the situation. We hope that relevant parties will do more things conducive to the peace and stability of the peninsula," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Hu said Beijing is "seriously concerned" and called for progress in stalled six-nation talks over the North's nuclear program.
The warning by Hu, who rarely speaks publicly about North Korea, represented an unusually firm stance by Beijing and appeared to reflect growing frustration with its unruly ally.
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