North Korea sends delegation to China

A North Korean foreign ministry delegation left Tuesday for China, Pyongyang's state news agency reported, amid international efforts to persuade the North to rejoin six-nation nuclear disarmament talks , AFP reported.

Vice-minister Kim Yong-Il is heading the team, the agency said in a one-sentence report, which did not state the purpose of the visit.

The North quit the six-nation forum in protest at the UN Security Council's decision to censure its April 5 long-range rocket launch.

The following month the North staged its second nuclear test, incurring international anger and tougher UN sanctions supported even by its ally China.

China's chief nuclear negotiator paid a five-day visit to North Korea last month -- a mission reportedly focused on bringing Pyongyang back to the talks hosted by Beijing.

US special envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth is due to tour the region this month to discuss how to restart the stalled dialogue. The State Department said Monday that Pyongyang is not on the itinerary.

South Korean media have said Bosworth and his team would probably visit South Korea, China and Japan in early September.

North Korea wants bilateral discussions with Washington on ending the nuclear standoff. The US says such talks must be held within the six-nation framework, which also groups China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

After months of rising tensions, the North has made a recent series of peace overtures in what some analysts see as an attempt to undermine international efforts to enforce the sanctions.

In early August, when former US president Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang, leader Kim Jong-Il pardoned two American journalists sentenced to long jail terms for illegal entry.

The North has since set free five detained South Koreans, lifted border restrictions on its neighbour and agreed to allow more reunions for families divided since the 1950-53 war.

It sent envoys to Seoul for talks with President Lee Myung-Bak on improving relations.