Peace hopes rest on North Korea's closest ally

BEIJING (AP):The United States and China committed yesterday to a process aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, with the Obama administration gaining at least the rhetorical support of the only government that can exert significant influence over the reclusive North.

The question now is whether Beijing will make good on its pledge to uphold "peace and stability" and work with Washington on achieving the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

The declarations from both nations' foreign policy chiefs came as North Korea appears to be readying a missile test that has caused grave concern for the US and its two close Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.

"We are able, the United States and China, to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner," US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Beijing before having dinner with State Councillor Yang Jiechi.

PEACEFUL RESOLUTION

Kerry and Yang said they'd seek a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear stand-off, which has only grown worse in recent months under its young leader Kim Jong Un.

Since testing an atomic device in February, the North has threatened new tests of its missile capacity and even talked about launching nuclear strikes against the United States, while expanding its United Nations-outlawed uranium and plutonium enrichment programme.