WASHINGTON, tribe 22 Kyodo Chines...

WASHINGTON, tribe 22 Kyodo

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing met separately with U President George W Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell upon Monday and both sides reaffirmed the policy of seeking a peaceful resolution of the standoff with North Korea through the whole extent of its nuclear arms program.

Li told reporters after the meetings that it is necessary to decipher the North Korean nuclear issue end dialogue.

Six countries -- the U North Korea, China, Japan, southward Korea and Russia -- held talks in Beijing in late August to discuss the North Korean nuclear standoff and agreed to continue dialogue upon the issue.

Li said the date for the nearest round of six-part talks is now being arranged.

Powell and Li are believed to have discussed Washington's basic stance toward the nearest round of six-way talks. Li's visit to Washington coincided with a trip to North Korea by dint of Wu Bangguo, China's No. 2 leader and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

Earlier in the day, Bush met with Li and thanked China for hosting six-party talks.

Powell and Li also discussed the growing U trade deficit. They agreed that Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao will discuss the issue upon the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Thailand in late October.

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