DPRK nuke row: China urges diplomacy

GENEVA: China yesterday urged peaceful diplomatic means by the international community to deal with Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) even as the UN chief reiterated that he would contact Pyongyang "directly" if needed to resolve the standoff over its nuclear program.

"It is important to resolve proliferation issues through political and diplomatic means and eradicate the root causes of nuclear weapon proliferation," China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said at a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.

The 65-nation conference is the world's only multilateral disarmament forum.