US and China will keep close contact over N Korea

China and the United States will maintain "very close contact" concerning developments in North Korea following the death of leader Kim Jong-il, a US diplomat said.

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BEIJING // China and the United States will maintain "very close contact" concerning developments in North Korea following the death of leader Kim Jong-il, a US diplomat said.

The assistant secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, is the highest level US official to visit the region since Kim's death last month raised new concerns about poor, nuclear-equipped North Korea's stability and US-North Korean talks that were disrupted just as they were making headway.

His comments followed four hours of talks with the vice foreign minister, Cui Tiankai, and other Chinese officials and scholars on issues including a possible resumption of talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament and deliveries of US food aid to the country.

"I think the United States and China share a strong determination to maintain peace and stability," Mr Campbell said at Beijing's airport ahead of a flight to South Korea.

"I think we both underscored how important it will be over the course of the coming months to maintain very close contact between Washington and Beijing, and I indicated that we would be closely monitoring the situation there and that we urged all parties to cautiously deal with the situation and to refrain from any provocations."

China is North Korea's most important diplomatic ally and provides important economic assistance to the country. It has frequently been called on by the US and others to use its influence to moderate North Korean behaviour.

Following Kim's death, and with a leadership transition to his son Kim Jong-un under way, Chinese officials have urged Washington not to take any actions that might provoke or destabilise Pyongyang.

In the past two years, tensions spiralled in the region as North Korea conducted a nuclear test and shelled a South Korean island, among other provocations. With tensions easing slightly, Washington and Pyongyang have held quiet negotiations and were nearing an agreement to resume US food aid when Kim died on December 17.

That agreement was seen as a first step toward restarting the stalled six-nation disarmament talks, which also include China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.