Obama, Xi Agree on N. Korea Denuclearization

    A top U.S. official says President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have agreed that North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons program.

National security adviser Tom Donilon said the leaders also agreed at an informal summit that neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear state.

Newly-appointed Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi told reporters Saturday that President Xi had told Obama that Beijing and Washington were in agreement on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Both advisers spoke to reporters as the leaders of the world's two largest economies ended a two-day informal summit in California.

The presidents began their informal talks Friday evening at the Sunnylands estate near Los Angeles. It was their first meeting since President Xi took office in March.

Obama and Xi told reporters late Friday that they had agreed on the need to work together to tackle cybersecurity issues. President Xi expressed hope the two nations can build a new model of "big country" relations.

Recent reports have accused China-based operations of stealing U.S. military and commercial secrets through cyber espionage. China has denied the claims and says it also is a victim of cyber spying.

The California meeting was described by U.S. officials as an opportunity for President Obama and President Xi to speak candidly about the issues affecting their two nations.

North Korea depends heavily on China for aid and trade, and Beijing maintains close ties with Pyongyang. However, North Korea's bellicose rhetoric, including threat of nuclear strikes on the United States, has visibly cooled those ties, as have a rocket launch and another nuclear test in the past year.

The Chinese leader arrived in California Thursday after visits to Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad.

He and Obama were originally scheduled to hold their first meeting of the year in September at the G 20 Summit in Russia. But both sides agreed there was a need to meet earlier.

fuente : La Voz de América,   http://www.voanews.com/content/us-chinese-presidents-wrap-up-california-summit/1678033.html