China presses N. Korea to halt test-launch

SHENZHEN, China – China’s premier urged North Korea on Wednesday to desist from firing a long-range missile, while South Korea called on the United States to talk directly with North Korea to forestall a launch.

Premier Wen Jiabao said China was paying close attention to information that North Korea may be preparing a test-launch and urged North Korea to avoid any actions that would aggravate regional tensions and further derail long-stalled negotiations on the North’s nuclear fuel programs.

“We hope that the various parties will proceed from the greater interest of maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and refrain from taking measures that will worsen the situation,” Wen said at a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

As North Korea’s closest ally and a critical provider of fuel and other economic assistance, China carries unusual weight in diplomacy to engage the isolated government.

Wen’s remarks Wednesday were the first time the senior Chinese leadership acknowledged concerns about a possible missile launch in the two weeks since intelligence reports detected North Korean preparations.

“No country in the world has a greater influence on North Korea than China has,” said Howard, in Shenzhen to inaugurate deliveries of Australian natural gas and discuss a free-trade agreement with Wen.

According to intelligence reports, the missile, a Taepodong-2, was being fueled at a launch pad on North Korea’s northeastern coast. A U.S. government estimate puts the range of the Taepodong-2 missile between 5,000 and 7,500 miles, making it capable of reaching the United States.

Wen did not say what actions China was taking to pressure North Korea. And a senior South Korean official took a different tack, urging Washington to talk directly with the government – a demand a North Korean diplomat has hinted at but that the Bush administration has refused.

“Our government has the view that the U.S. administration should also be more actively involved in discussions,” South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said in a speech reported by the Yonhap news agency.

Wen’s and Lee’s remarks come a day after the Chinese and South Korean foreign ministers conferred in Beijing on the missile issue. The two countries, both North Korean neighbors, have drawn closer in recent years, joined by burgeoning economic ties they don’t want to see disrupted by regional crises.