Take N. Korean nuclear disarmament forward

Rice urges Beijing:

CHINA: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she expects China to help prod North Korea into fully declaring its nuclear programs, hoping to breath new life into a stalled disarmament process.

Following a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Rice said the U.S. still awaits a "complete and full declaration" from North Korea as promised last year.

"I am expecting from China what I am expecting from others. That we will use all influence possible with the North Koreans to convince them that it is time to move forward," Rice said.

Yang said China had been in "close talks" with North Korea, its longtime communist ally whose shattered economy it is helping prop up. "We certainly hope that second-phase actions can be implemented in a balanced, integrated way," Yang said.

Rice arrived in Beijing earlier Tuesday on the second stop of a regional tour aimed at jump-starting a year-old agreement under which North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear programs in return for aid and diplomatic benefits. North Korea says it has already provided a list of its programs, but Washington says it was not a complete accounting.

China has hosted six-nation talks on North Korea's denuclearization process and has been encouraged by Washington to pressure its neighbor to comply with an October promise to declare all its nuclear programs as part of the agreement's second-phase.

On the first stop of her Asian sweep, Rice attended the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and lauded his intent to hold North Korea to its promise to abandon nuclear weapons.

China's Foreign Ministry said Rice would also meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a senior adviser on foreign affairs.

Beijing, Tuesday, AP