South Korea, China discuss North Korea nuclear programme

South Korea and China held talks in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss ways to resume the six-party talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions, a Seoul diplomat said.
The one-day meeting between South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Hwang Joon-kook, and his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, came as behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts by the United States and North Korea apparently failed to narrow gaps on how to restart the six-party talks, Yonhap news agency reported.
"(Hwang and Wu) exchanged views on the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and held in-depth consultations on the North Korean nuclear issue, including ways to resume denuclearization talks," the diplomat said.
Last week, the top U.S. diplomat handling North Korea, Ambassador Sung Kim, told reporters in Beijing that Pyongyang was not ready for "serious and substantive" nuclear talks with Washington, indicating that an idea of holding a bilateral meeting in Beijing with North Korean officials had been discussed.
North Korea shifted the blame for a deadlock on the nuclear diplomacy to the U.S. on Sunday, revealing that Pyongyang invited Kim to visit the North for direct talks, but Washington rejected the offer.
Stepping up harsh rhetoric on Wednesday, North Korea's omnipotent National Defense Commission said there was no need for Pyongyang to hold direct talks with "gangster-like" Washington.
The six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs -- involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia -- have been dormant since late 2008, when Pyongyang walked away from the bargaining table.
Pyongyang has called for the resumption of the six-party talks without preconditions following its third nuclear test in February 2013. But Seoul and Washington have insisted that the North should first show its sincere commitment toward denuclearization.
Relations between Washington and Pyongyang have deteriorated as the U.S. slapped fresh sanctions on the North earlier last month following Pyongyang's alleged hacks on Sony Pictures.