North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has not apologised for a nuclear test but said he had no plans for a second test while reserving Pyongyang's options if the crisis escalates, China said on Tuesday.
Kim's nuclear test on October 9 drew regional condemnation and UN sanctions backed by China, his reclusive state's long-time supporter. Last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice toured Asia rallying support for sanctions and Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan visited Pyongyang.
South Korean and Japanese media reports said Kim had told Tang he regretted the difficulties the test had caused China. On Tuesday, however, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao denied the reports, which had stirred hopes that Kim was drawing back from confrontation. "These reports are inaccurate. I haven't heard of Kim Jong-il apologising," Liu told a regular news conference.
"He (Kim) also indicated that the DPRK has no plans for a second nuclear test but if other countries impose more pressure, the DPRK may take further steps," Liu said. The North's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Liu's comments were China's first official reaction to the reports. Earlier, Rice had also cast doubt on them, and said North Korea was bent on escalating the crisis. She told reporters as she left Beijing for Moscow on Saturday that Tang, a former foreign minister, had not told her of any apology or no-test promise from Kim.
While endorsing the UN sanctions, China has drawn back from calls from Washington to cut fuel and aid to North Korea and try to cajole Kim back to disarmament talks.
Beijing fears sanctions that squeeze impoverished North Korea tightly could tear apart relations and risk the North's collapse, sending waves of refugees into China and threatening regional turmoil. On Tuesday, Liu repeated China's call for limited pressure and more diplomacy.
"All parties should not wilfully interpret or expand the sanctions," he said, adding that he was unaware of any Chinese plans to cut food and energy aid to Pyongyang. "Sanctions are not the end. They should serve the goal of peacefully settling the crisis through dialogue and consultation," Liu said.
He said North Korea had restated its willingness to return to six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear programme, but only if Washington lifted financial restrictions. The talks, which also group the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia, have been stalled since last November when Pyongyang denounced the US banking curbs.
Rice has made clear that Washington has no intention of ending the curbs, imposed on the grounds that North Korea was counterfeiting money and trading illegal drugs. Rice's five-day trip to Asia was aimed at fostering regional support for stiff inspections and sanctions against North Korea.
But she won few commitments from China and South Korea, both of which favour using incentives to draw Pyongyang back to the disarmament talks. Russia, the last stop on Rice's trip, appeared to echo China's belief that the United States should be more open to some compromise with North Korea. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged all sides to calm down.
"In Moscow, it is hoped that all participants in the negotiations will proceed from similar positions and will not undertake any steps that could heat up the atmosphere," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov is to visit China for two days from November 9, Beijing announced on Tuesday.
A Hong Kong newspaper said on Tuesday the Chinese territory had detained a North Korean ship for suspected safety violations. The 2,035-tonne general cargo ship Kang Nam I had arrived in the former British colony on Sunday from Shanghai and had been due to head for Taiwan on Tuesday with a load of scrap metal, the South China Morning Post reported.
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