Chinese official visits U.S. amid N. Korea`s imminent signs

A Chinese official who played an important role in the six-party talks on denuclearizing North Korea`s nuclear program has visited the United States amid a rising sense of urgency over Pyongyang`s imminent nuclear test.

The U.S. Department of State said that Wang, the director of the international liaison department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, held talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, local time. The Chinese official arrived in Washington on Monday.

Wang, who is in charge of China`s exchanges with other socialist countries, visited the U.S. for exchanges between the two countries` political parties and parliaments but is reportedly scheduled to meet with other senior officials of the Obama administration. A diplomatic source in Washington said, "Although Wang visited the U.S. just before the North`s test firing of a long-range missile in December 2012, it is unusual for Wang who is mainly in charge of Beijing-Pyongyang exchanges."

During the visit, Wang is expected to convey the Chinese leadership`s message regarding Korean Peninsula issues including the North Korean nuclear issue and the proposed resumption of the six-party talks.

Wang has paid frequent visits to North Korea since the early 2000s, acting as a messenger between Beijing and Pyongyang. He visited Pyongyang to meet with the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in critical situations such as the worsening of the inter-Korean relations or the North`s provocations, and made significant contributions to restoring the deadlocked six-party talks.

Last month, Wu Dawei, China`s chief nuclear negotiator for the six-party talks, visited the U.S. for talks with his U.S. counterpart, Glenn Davis, but failed to make a breakthrough for the resumption of the six-party negotiations.