BEIJING (AFP) - North Korea's number two leader began a series of meetings in China amid pessimism about prospects for an early resumption of talks on curbing the Stalinist state's nuclear program.
At the start of a three-day trip to China, top lawmaker Kim Yong-Nam held discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wu Bangguo, who plainly stated Beijing's eagerness for the stalled six-party negotiations to restart.
"The nuclear talks have encountered some problems but I believe that as long as all parties are patient, show sincerity and exercise flexibility, these problems can be overcome," Chinese state TV quoted Wu telling Kim.
"The negotiation process can continue and there is no other alternative but to continue," he said.
Kim merely reiterated North Korea's willingness to continue to "seek peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue through dialogue" although he admitted the situation remained "complicated", Xinhua news agency said.
He was scheduled to meet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday.
China has hosted three rounds of largely unproductive negotiations on the nuclear weapons issue over the past 14 months, and is now apparently involved in an all-out diplomatic effort to salvage the talks.
"The main concern of the Chinese authorities is to maintain momentum in the six-party talks," said Joseph Cheng, a political scientist at City University of Hong Kong.
Kim Yong-Nam is accompanied on his China trip by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-Il, who previously headed the North Korean delegation at the talks in Beijing, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
But Kim Yong-Nam could be on a short leash in China, despite his formal position as his country's second most powerful man, since the entire political system is built around the personal authority of supreme leader Kim Jong-Il.
North Korea failed to turn up for a fourth round of the multilateral talks scheduled for Beijing last month, ostensibly to protest South Korea's controversial nuclear experiments and Washington's "hostile policy" towards it.
Some observers believe the secretive regime is waiting for the outcome of next month's US presidential poll before returning to negotiations, which involve China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.
The impasse is expected to be on the agenda when US Secretary of State Colin Powell starts a tour of Asia, including China, at the end of the week.
China's special envoy for North Korean affairs, Ning Fukui, recently visited Washington, meeting Powell's deputy Richard Armitage and other senior US diplomats, and found little reason for optimism.
The US State Department said subsequently that "as far as we know, the situation remains stalled, with North Korea not prepared to live up to its commitments to come back to talks".
While the nuclear issue is likely to be high on the agenda of Kim's visit, he is also expected to discuss ways in which North Korea's disastrous economy can learn from China's experience with reform.
This is reflected in the membership of his delegation, which includes Ri Ju-O, minister of light industry, and Kim Yong-Jae, vice-minister of foreign trade, according to KCNA.
It is also reflected in his itinerary, with a stop Monday at a science park in the north of Beijing that is often referred to as China's Silicon Valley.
His entourage arrived at the Zhongguancun International Incubator Inc., part of the science park, in mid-afternoon and was given an introduction to the firm, which says it has helped start up 283 high-tech companies.
On Tuesday Kim is to visit Hancunhe village an hour's drive outside the capital, which is being promoted as a model community that has succeeded in dramatically raising the standard of living of its residents.
North Korea, beset by mismanagement and an unfavorable agricultural geography, is seen as keen to emulate China, which improved the lives of its massive peasant population especially in the early years of reform.