The United States warned China that it would redeploy forces in Asia if it failed to rein in its ally North Korea, it was reported today.
The New York Times quoted a senior administration official as saying President Barack Obama's warning had persuaded China - the North's main diplomatic and economic backer - to take a harder line toward Pyongyang, and opened the door to a resumption of inter-Korean talks, possibly next month.
South Korea agreed yesterday to a North Korean offer of high-level military talks, a major breakthrough in the crisis on the peninsula. Such talks could clear the way for the resumption of long-stalled aid-for-disarmament negotiations with the North.
The New York Times said Mr Obama warned his Chinese counterpart that if Beijing did not step up pressure on North Korea, Washington would redeploy its forces in Asia to protect itself from a potential North Korean strike on US soil.
Mr Obama first made the warning in a phone call to Mr Hu last month, and repeated it over a private dinner at the White House on Tuesday, the US administration official said.
The White House refused comment on the report.
Last week, Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned that Pyongyang was becoming a direct threat to the United States and could develop inter-continental ballistic missiles within five years.
South Korea said it had agreed to hold high-level military talks with the North, the first such contact since a deadly artillery attack on the South in November sharply raised tensions on the divided peninsula.
Pyongyang yesterday acceded
to Seoul's demands for talks specifically addressing that attack and the sinking of a South Korean warship last March, but made no mention of talks on denuclearisation - the key component of six-party meetings.
Washington and Tokyo have cautiously welcomed the Korean talks, but there has been no comment from Beijing.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the talks, saying while they marked progress, the South's demands for an apology for last year's attacks could prove difficult for Pyongyang to accept.
Washington and Beijing have argued that North-South dialogue is a prerequisite to a resumption of six-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
In 2009, Pyongyang walked out of the aid-for-disarmament talks, under which it previously agreed to abandon its nuclear programs.
Mr Obama and Mr Hu have jointly expressed concern about North Korea's nuclear programme.
The prospect of a resumption of six-party talks will set off a new wave of diplomacy, starting with a visit to the region by US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg next week.
Six-party talks have been beset by problems since their start in 2003, with the North sporadically walking out, but experts say they are the best multilateral forum to engage Pyongyang.
Moreover, they say six-party talks keep a lid on tensions.
The South's defence ministry said it would propose a date for the preliminary talks sometime next week, adding they would probably take place in mid-February. The talks will set the agenda for high-level military talks, possibly at the ministerial level.
The North's KCNA state news agency today published the letter sent to the South's defence ministry. "We are in a firm position to resolve all military issues including those the South wants to propose," it said.
Seoul has questioned the North's sincerity for talks, saying it mirrors past behaviour when it has sought dialogue to extract concessions for aid only to row back on their promises later.
Separately today, Mr Obama said he wants to open up Chinese markets to US companies to have "two-way trade, not just one-way trade".
Mr Obama, speaking to workers at a General Electric plant in New York, said he had struck a deal with Mr Hu in White House talks earlier this week on better access to China for US companies.
Reuters