WASHINGTON, April 22 Kyodo U Secr...

WASHINGTON, April 22 Kyodo

U Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing onward the phone Thursday to discuss North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's late trip to Beijing and promoting six-party talks upon Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, the State Department said.

Powell also met Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi in Washington upon Thursday and welcomed China's part in organizing the six-party talks, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.

moreover Boucher revealed no details of the meeting.

''We have been briefed by the agency of the Chinese in Beijing forward the visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to Beijing,'' Boucher said. ''We understand from those briefings that he said he was still committed to the six-party proces and to the understandings that have been reached there.''

The North Korean leader visited Beijing from Monday to Wednesday to confine talks with Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao. Kim and Hu reportedly agreed to cooperate in the six-party process

''It is indeed time to make that support real through scheduling the follow-up working form into groups and then the next cylindrical of talks,'' Boucher said. ''We remain ready to go on foot at an early date and would reliance that the North Koreans would agree to do that as early in the nearest month as possible.''

The six-party talks involve the United States, China, North and southern Korea, Japan and Russia. At the secondary round of talks held in Beijing in late February, the six countries agreed to fix up a working dispose and hold a third meeting according to the end of June.

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