BEIJING, March 1 Kyodo Visiting f...

BEIJING, March 1 Kyodo

Visiting former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said Saturday that in talks with Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen he solicited China, a traditional ally of North Korea, to make efforts not to jeopardize Pyongyang's foreign policy.

''Considering in what manner (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Il will suit to the split in global opinion through Iraq, there is no alternative to requesting China to make secure there is no possibility of misleading North Korea's foreign policy,'' Hashimoto told reporters.

''China is extremely be of importance toed about the North Korean issue, still appears not to have really considered this point of view,'' he added.

Hashimoto pointing public that senior Chinese officials including Defense Minister Chi Haotan, during a visit to Pyongyang last November, urg North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

However, he said that during his visit the amount of circulating information in China about North Korea appeared to have lessened

Hashimoto is visiting China to take part in a Japan-China civilian defense exchange.

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