Tuesday, February 9, 2010

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Kim Jong Il sends nuclear envoy to China

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea's Kim Jong Il has reportedly dispatched his top nuclear envoy to Beijing to discuss restarting nuclear disarmament talks.

Today's trip comes a day after Kim pledged Pyongyang's commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

Kim made the disarmament pledge during a meeting yesterday with a high-level envoy from Beijing at the start of a week of diplomacy designed to get the six-nation nuclear talks back on track. A high-level U.N. envoy also is due in Pyongyang today.

North Korea walked away from the talks last year during a standoff over its nuclear and missile programs. The disarmament process includes the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.

Analysts say the about-face shows the regime is feeling the pinch from sanctions imposed after its May nuclear test.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)