U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed China to make North Korea return to talks on scrapping its nuclear arms after warning that the United States would not wait for ever for a resumption. Rice, in Beijing on the last day of a sweep through Asia, wants China, North Korea's biggest benefactor, to use more of its leverage over Pyongyang despite Sino-U.S. tensions over Taiwan and Beijing's military spending. On a trip intended to jump-start six-party talks, the top U.S. diplomat has made moves, such as recognising North Korea's sovereignty and promising to respect it, to coax the reclusive state back to negotiations that have been on hold since June. But U.S. impatience is rising, and Rice has begun to lay the groundwork with her Asian partners for how to deal with North Korea if it stays away, a senior State Department official said. While Rice's aides would not specify what steps were under consideration, hardliners in the Bush administration want to call off the talks and report North Korea to the United Nations for possible sanctions. "It is true that we need to resolve this issue," Rice said at a news conference in Seoul before flying to Beijing on Sunday. "It cannot go on for ever." --More 2317 Local Time 2017 GMT
