In a May 30 appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live, U.S. vice president Richard Cheney ratcheted up the discourse, calling DPRK president Kim Jong Il “one of the world’s most irresponsible leaders.”

On May 6 the White House charged that satellite intelligence suggested Pyongyang could be preparing to test a nuclear weapon, calling it “a provocative act.” Pyongyang denied the charge, reported the China Daily, and Beijing said it has no evidence supporting Washington’s claim.

“The Chinese need to understand that it’s incumbent upon them to be major players here,” Cheney said on the CNN talk show.

Negotiations involving Pyongyang and Washington on north Korea’s nuclear program have been suspended for almost a year. The meetings, known as the six-party talks, had been hosted by Beijing and also include Seoul, Tokyo, and Moscow. Cheney said if the talks fail, another step “would be to go to the UN Security Council and seek the applications of economic sanctions.”

The search for the remains of U.S. soldiers is the only formal contact the U.S. military has with the north Korean armed forces. The Pentagon said it suspended the operations out of concern for the safety of U.S. personnel in light of the “uncertain environment created by North Korea’s unwillingness to participate in the six-party talks.”

Pyongyang has insisted it is developing nuclear arms to defend itself against the presence of 40,000 U.S. troops in south Korea and increased belligerence from Washington and Tokyo. According to north Korea’s official news agency, KCNA, a spokesman of the DPRK’s foreign ministry said May 22, “The DPRK remains unchanged in its stance of sticking to the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and seeking a peaceful negotiated solution to the nuclear issue.”  
 
 
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