China and North Korea held strategic talks in Beijing on Wednesday amid Pyongyang's call for direct talks with the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui and North Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan exchanged views on bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference.

BEIJING, June 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's top nuclear envoy held strategic talks with senior Chinese officials on Wednesday, in a meeting that was expected to focus on the North's nuclear weapons program and bilateral ties. Kim Kye-gwan, the North's veteran nuclear negotiator and first vice foreign minister, began a "strategic dialogue" with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui. China has expressed frustration against its wayward ally North Korea, supporting tightened U.N. sanctions to punish the North for conducting its third nuclear test in February.

By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Cho Tae-yong, urged North Korea Tuesday to take "actions" to assure that it is serious about denuclearization as he began a three-day trip to Washington for consultations on ways to deal with Pyongyang. "North Korea should show its will for a real denuclearization through actions," Cho, who serves as South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, told reporters upon arriving.

SEOUL/BEIJING, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's chief nuclear envoy on Tuesday responded coolly to North Korea's proposal of high-level talks with the United States, saying there should not be "talks for talks' sake" with Pyongyang. Cho Tae-yong, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the remarks as he left for Washington for a trilateral meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama.