China agrees to step in to discipline N Korea

S Korea's foreign minister Yun Byung-Se walks with Wu Dawei (L), China's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs, and South Korea's Kim Hong-Kyun (C), on Monday. Pic/AFP

Seoul: China has agreed to "strong" new measures to punish North Korea if it carries out a nuclear test, Seoul said yesterday after the US signalled it might act to shut down Pyongyang's weapons programme. After a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, South Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Hong-Kyun said, "We agreed that there should be strong additional measures based on UN Security Council resolutions if the North pushes ahead with a nuclear test despite warnings."