Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to visit China next week to solidify a hard line expected to be taken today when the United Nations votes to sanction North Korea for reportedly testing a nuclear .
Rice will also visit South Korea and Japan on the five-day trip, to kick off Tuesday, but her main goal will be to persuade China to pressure Pyongyang to halt its drive to build a nuclear arsenal.
China is expected to join Security Council members today in approving the sanction resolution.
U.S. and Russian officials expect last-minute tinkering, “but we do have unanimous agreement, and we’re going to follow that schedule,” said U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.
The vote comes as U.S.
and Chinese officials cast doubt on the North Korean claim. No radioactive particles were found Tuesday by a spy plane over the Sea of Japan near the Korean mainland, a U.S. official said. And China has tested its air and found no radiation. With Post Wire Services