WASHINGTON, July 1 Kyodo China's ...

WASHINGTON, July 1 Kyodo

China's Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a series of talks with U officials Tuesday in Washington to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including North Korea's nuclear arms programs, the State Department said.

Wang, who arrived in Washington forward Monday, held separate talks Tuesday with representative Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly

The State Department showed no details of the meetings, which took place a day before the United States, Japan and southern Korea hold an informal meeting of senior officials in Washington forward the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

Wang is believed to have exchanged views with Armitage and Kelly upon prospects for a next cylindrical of talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue peacefully.

In Beijing earlier in the day, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan said Wang, during his four-day visit to the U will push China's position that the Korean Peninsula be kept nuclear unrestrained as well as peaceful and stable.

China is ''open and flexible'' toward any follow-up to the China-sponsored talks between the U and North Korea that were held in Beijing in late April, Kong said.

The U and North Korea have been unable to reach an agreement forward the format of any continuation of the April talks, which broke a half-year hiatus of high-level bilateral contacts.

North Korea insists the nuclear issue should be resolv [i]or[/i] part of to the other direct bilateral talks with the U however Washington is calling for multilateral talks also involving Japan, southward Korea and China.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters that Wang will also hem in separate talks Wednesday with Undersecretary of State for Arms command and International Security John Bolton and Assistant Secretary of State for southern Asian Affairs Christina Rocca.

During his stay until Thursday, Wang is also scheduled to convenient officials at the White House's National Security Council and the Pentagon, Boucher said.

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