CHINA'S KOREAN DIPLOMACY

Beijing hopes that Pyongyang will agree to denuclearisation to maintain peace and equilibrium.

China will send a special envoy to North Korea this week, the government said on Wednesday, days after US President Donald Trump pressed Beijing to do more to curb North Korea's nuclear threats.

The foreign ministry said President Xi's Jinping's special envoy, Song Tao, will travel to Pyongyang to brief officials about last month's Chinese Communist Party congress and ''other issues of mutual concern''.

Ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang did not say whether the nuclear issue would be discussed but he said China was-

''Committed to do the denuclearisation of the peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation.

As Beijing prepared for the mission, Pyongyang maintained its was of words with Trump, saying the  US President deserves the death penalty for insulting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

China's announcement came a day after the end of Trump's five-nation tour of Asia, during which the US leader held meetings with XI and urged him to act fast to rein in North Korea, warning that-

''Time is quickly running out''.