The presidents of China and South Korea at a summit on Monday called for co-operation in sputtering talks to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons while they pledged to boost trade between the major economic partners.
Chinese President Hu Jintao's two-day visit to South Korea came less than 24 hours after the closing of the Beijing Olympics and as regional powers press North Korea to accept a nuclear inspection system as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal the secretive state struck with five countries.
"We confirmed that the denuclearisation of North Korea will be achieved through six-party talks," President Lee Myung-bak said at a joint news conference with Hu. A joint statement issued after their talks avoided criticism of any party in the nuclear talks but analysts said Hu may have been making a point of showing his concern about the nuclear deal by coming to Seoul fresh after Beijing's triumphant hosting of the Olympics.
In late June, North Korea released a long-delayed list of its nuclear activities as called for in the deal among the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. But the United States has angered the North by refusing to remove it from a terrorism blacklist until Pyongyang allows for a way to verify details of the nuclear declaration. Once removed, the impoverished North can better tap into international finance.