Officials in Beijing say a Chinese envoy met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Thursday to discuss the international crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons test.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman says a message sent by President Hu Jintao was delivered to Kim by Mr. Hu's envoy, former foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan.
Fuller details of the talks in Pyongyang are just now coming in from Beijing. U.S. officials said earlier they believe the message contained a very strong warning to Kim not to conduct any further nuclear tests.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in South Korea today for talks on how to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea following its underground nuclear explosion on October 9.
The United States is urging South Korea to join in inspections at sea of ships carrying cargo to North Korea. Government officials in Seoul, however, are concerned that such inspections could lead to clashes with North Korea.
Rice arrived in South Korea from two days of talks in Japan with Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two countries pledged to work together on implementing the sanctions.
A South Korean lawmaker, meanwhile, says the world should brace for more North Korean nuclear activity, and "three to four" additional nuclear blasts.
Chung Hyung-geun, a member of the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee, says this estimate comes from information gathered by international intelligence agencies.
U.S. satellite photographs of North Korea reportedly have shown what could be preparations for a second nuclear test. Rice says any new test by the North likely would result in additional sanctions against Pyongyang.
Rice is traveling to Beijing and Moscow next, for further discussions on the North Korea issue.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters