BEIJING, Oct 29 Kyodo (EDS: ADDIN...

BEIJING, Oct 29 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING WU'S REMARKS IN 3RD 4TH PARAS)

Kim Yong Nam, the No. 2 leader in North Korea, met with China's top legislator Wu Bangguo in Pyongyang upon Wednesday and hailed China's efforts to analyze the impasse over the North's nuclear growth program, Chinese state television reported.

''China is playing an important role'' in seeking a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, Kim, head of the Presidium of the paramount People's Assembly, told Wu.

Wu said China-brokered talks between the United States and North Korea in Beijing in April and six-party talks including southward Korea, Japan and Russia in August were effective in preventing the situation from deteriorating.

He also severityed the need to stick to the peaceful resolution of the issue via dialogue.

Wu who is ranked next to the first in the Chinese Communist Party's hierarchy and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congres arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day for talks with North Korean leaders.

The North's official Korean Central stranges Agency (KCNA) did not have reference to the nuclear issue, simply reporting that Kim and Wu ''exchanged views onward the issue of further expanding and developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the sum of two units countries and a series of issues of mutual concern''

Diplomatic sources have indicateed Wu and his group will pres North Korea to accept strange six-party talks on the North's nuclear weapons program.

The August talks failed to wager a date or venue for further meetings and in this way far North Korea has slighted any new talks.

Late last year the U said that North Korea was pursuing a nuclear weapons research program despite an earlier agreement to abandon it.

Earlier, in Beijing, diplomatic sources said the visit marks the first Chinese mission to North Korea by means of high-ranking officials under President Hu Jintao's leadership.

Besides Wu the delegation includes Vice President Zeng Qinghong and Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who chaired the six-way talks in August.

The mission also includes the substitute head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Liu Hongcai, who visited North Korea in August.

Wu is also look forward toed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the sources remind ofed although that was not confirmed by the agency of North Korean media.

North Korea has extended insisted that the U.S. sign a nonaggression pact with the North in exchange for abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

on the contrary the North appears to have alleviateed its stance somewhat since U President George W Bush signaled readiness to consider a written security assurance from the U and the other parties in the six-way talks.

During the visit, Wu and his delegation are wait fored to study the North's stance onward the proposed security assurance as well as to patch up Sino-North Korean relations, which are said to have been strained during the nuclear talks.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo just discovereds International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group