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BEIJING - China said on Thursday it wanted an early resumption of six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme, and a Japanese official said Pyongyang had been badly hit by a US financial crackdown.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said no date had been set for the next session of the long-stalled talks, but he made it clear Beijing was keen for a quick restart.
"If we're prepared and each side agrees, then sooner the better," he told a regular news briefing.
Thursday's remarks were the first official Chinese comment since North Korea agreed on Tuesday to return to the six-party talks, hosted by Beijing since 2003 and grouping the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
Washington has said it will "address" North Korea's concerns about a US clampdown on its external financing in the next round of talks. Pyongyang had boycotted the process since November last year in protest at those restrictions.
A senior Japanese intelligence official told Reuters on Thursday the financial crackdown had been squeezing Pyongyang.
"I believe they are having a considerable effect on North Korea's economy," said Takashi Ohizumi, director-general of Tokyo's Public Security Intelligence Agency. "The flow of funds into North Korea has been blocked to a great extent."
Ohizumi said Pyongyang, which carried out its first nuclear test on October 9, might now try to use its newly proven capability as an extra bargaining chip, so countries must keep sanctions in place.
In Washington, a Bush administration official told Reuters on Wednesday that there was little "wiggle room" over the financial restrictions, imposed after US Treasury officials accused North of counterfeiting American dollars and trafficking illegal drugs.
"I think we're going in with a non-compromising position on this, but there is a willingness to talk about these issues," another senior US official told Reuters.
Chinese spokesman Liu confirmed that China would continue observing the UN sanctions.
North Korea's nuclear test drew worldwide condemnation and United Nations sanctions under Resolution 1718. China was stinging in its condemnation of the test and gave crucial backing to the UN sanctions targeting trade with North Korea in large conventional weapons and luxury goods.
"Each country has a duty to strictly and responsibly implement it and China is no exception," Liu said of the resolution.
North Korea's surprise decision to return to negotiations has raised speculation that China had pressured Pyongyang by squeezing the struggling fortress state's economic lifelines.
Chinese trade data released on Monday showed that China sent no crude oil at all to the energy-starved North in September - before the nuclear test, but after Pyongyang had ignited regional anger by test-firing missiles.
But Liu denied Beijing had pressured its neighbor into concessions. "China has never approved of using pressure and sanctions to solve problems," he said.
Japanese intelligence chief Ohizumi left no doubt, however, that sanctions and economic isolation were pinching North Korea's secretive leaders, and public disaffection there was rising as the economy soured.
"The gap between rich and poor has been deepening. There are signs in several areas that the public view of the establishment is declining," he said.
In Seoul, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun told foreign executives on Thursday that North Korea had not tipped the balance of military power on the Korean peninsula in its favor by developing nuclear weapons and conducting its first test.
"Will the military balance be broken to a degree North Korea will unilaterally wage aggression? I don't think it has been broken yet," Roh said. "We will always maintain superiority."
- REUTERS
