U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she expects China to help prod North Korea into fully declaring its nuclear programs as part of efforts to breath life into a stalled disarmament process, reported ap. Kicking off a brief visit to Beijing, Rice also repeated her earlier criticisms of a referendum planned by China's rival Taiwan on joining the United Nations. She said she also discussed with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi the need for a new U.N. resolution to pressure Iran into cooperating with nuclear inspectors. The sides, meanwhile, also recommitted themselves to renewed dialogue on religious and civil rights. Washington still awaits a «complete and full declaration» from North Korea as promised last year, Rice told reporters. «I am expecting from China what I am expecting from others. That we will use all influence possible with the North Koreans to convince them that it is time to move forward,» Rice said. Yang said China, the host of six-nation talks on North Korea's denuclearization process, had been in «close talks» with the North, its longtime communist ally whose shattered economy it is helping prop up. «China will continue to play an important role in moving this forward,» Yang said. China's Foreign Ministry said Rice would also meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a senior adviser on foreign affairs. She was due to leave Wednesday for Japan, the third stop on a regional tour to jump-start a year-old agreement under which North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear programs in return for aid and diplomatic benefits. While Pyongyang maintains a large diplomatic mission in Beijing, Rice has ruled out talks with North Korean officials during her official stay in China, saying such a meeting was neither warranted nor could be of any use in the current circumstances. North Korea has said it already has provided a list of its programs, but Washington has countered that Pyongyang has not given a complete accounting. Although North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor last year, American researchers who visited the complex earlier this month reported that officials there said they had slowed the removal of fuel rods. They said that was because the United States and other nations have fallen behind in supplying aid promised under the disarmament deal.
