China has sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il that South Korea hopes will help persuade Pyongyang to agree to multilateral talks on its nuclear arms.
Diplomats said the decision by Chinese President Hu Jintao to intervene with a letter from to Kim was highly significant.
"As much as anyone can influence North Korea, the Chinese can," said one senior diplomat in Seoul today. "China is playing a crucial role in trying to get them to the table".
The North's official KCNA news agency said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo had met Kim on Monday.
"The special envoy courteously handed a personal letter from Hu Jintao," KCNA said. It did not say what Hu had written to Kim, who rarely receives foreign visitors. China's Xinhua news agency said the two men discussed "issues of mutual concern".