| China's chief nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visited North Korea earlier this week as part of efforts to stop North Korea firing a long-range missile, Yonhap news agency said, quoting an unnamed source. "Vice Foreign Minister Wu visited Pyongyang to deliver a message of concern over North Korea's preparations for the launch of a rocket carrying what it claims to be a communications satellite," the "informed source" told Yonhap. The news agency said the source would not comment on whether Wu's diplomatic mission would succeed. The communist state, defying international warnings, said Tuesday its preparations to launch a satellite were making "brisk headway" but gave no date for the exercise. Seoul and Washington see such a launch as a pretext to test the Taepodong-2 missile, which could theoretically reach Alaska. They say a rocket launch for any purpose would violate a UN resolution passed after the last missile test. |