US sounds warning on N Korea
The US Vice President, Dick Cheney, has warned that North Korea could spread its nuclear technology to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.
Mr Cheney called on Beijing to continue its efforts to resolve the nuclear impasse with Pyongyang.
He described the issue as "one of the most serious problems in the region".
Mr Cheney reportedly gave Chinese officials fresh new evidence about North Korea's nuclear programmes, according to a US official.
"Time is not necessarily on our side," he told university students in Shanghai on the final day of his visit to China.
Mr Cheney said he was worried about a possible nuclear arms race in Asia if North Korea's nuclear programmes were not halted.
"Because of the Pyongyang regime's past history of irresponsibility and deceit, the removal of all its nuclear capabilities is absolutely essential to the peace and stability of North East Asia and the world," he said.
Mr Cheney brought to China new evidence which could end Chinese doubts about whether Pyongyang has a highly enriched uranium programme, a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday.
It is not clear what this evidence is, but the move comes amid US reports that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani scientist who admitted exporting nuclear technology to North Korea, reportedly told his interrogators that he saw three nuclear devices at a secret underground plant during a trip to the North five years ago.
Nuclear arms race
Mr Cheney also said he feared North Korea could provide nuclear technology to other groups.
"We know that there are terrorist organisations out there like al-Qaeda, that have sought to acquire these kinds of weapons in the past," he said on Thursday.
According to the BBC correspondent in Shanghai, Francis Markus, Mr Cheney portrayed the resolution of the nuclear issue as vital in the war against terror, and linked it to Washington's efforts to reshape the Middle East and Afghanistan.
He expressed gratitude for Beijing's leading role in organising talks aimed at encouraging North Korea to give up its nuclear programme.
China has proved a crucial player in dialogue with Pyongyang, having hosted two rounds of six-nation talks in Beijing.
Taiwan was also on the agenda during Mr Cheney's visit.
During talks on Wednesday in Beijing, President Hu Jintao urged Mr Cheney to "oppose Taiwan independence" and "avoid sending the wrong signals" to Taiwan's authorities by selling them arms.
Mr Cheney said the US did not support Taiwanese independence, but he defended Washington's obligation to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
The other topic to dominate Mr Cheney's visit was trade.
He reiterated Washington's concerns about the trade imbalance between the two countries, saying that Beijing had a responsibility to lower trade barriers, protect intellectual property rights and allow the Chinese currency to fluctuate.
He said that growing economic freedoms in China could not be separated from political freedoms.
Mr Cheney has now left China for South Korea, on the final leg of a week-long tour of Asia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3625939.stm