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China and Russia yesterday toughened their united opposition to a war in Iraq, saying a conflict 'can and should be avoided'.

But neither country revealed whether it would use its veto powers to block a second United Nations resolution authorising force.

After a meeting of their foreign ministers, the two security council members also pressed the United States to sit down with North Korea for one-on-one talks to resolve the nuclear crisis, as America accused the North of firing up a reactor capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium.

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov met in Beijing after officials in Washington accused North Korea of reactivating the nuclear power plant at Yongbyon, 90km north of Pyongyang.

Fears are now centred on the 8,000 spent fuel rods stored at Yongbyon, as reprocessing them could yield enough plutonium for six bombs.

South Korea said it was not surprised by the news, in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid further escalation of the crisis.

In an apparent softening of their earlier position, China and Russia also offered to help with multilateral talks, which are supported by the US but not by North Korea - which wants to deal with the Americans directly.

In a communique, Mr Tang and Mr Ivanov confirmed their opposition to the use of military force in Iraq and their commitment to promoting a political settlement of the crisis. The two ministers said UN resolution 1441 and related resolutions provide the necessary legal basis for tackling the issue.

Xia Yishan, senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said Mr Ivanov came to Beijing to lobby China following the visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

'Both China and Russia do not want to see a split in the [UN] Security Council,' he said. 'They toughened their joint stance to avoid putting the resolution through a council vote.'

A sharply divided security council prepared last night to discuss the latest US-sponsored text.

Russia, France and Germany have presented a proposal aiming to prolong the UN weapons inspections at least until July 1.

In a separate communique regarding the brewing storm on the Korean peninsula, China and Russia pledged to push for an 'equal and constructive dialogue' between the US and North Korea to achieve a 'peaceful and just' resolution of the dispute. They said they were ready to push for a political resolution of the nuclear issue in bilateral and multilateral arenas to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The offer of assistance with multilateral talks is a victory for Mr Powell, who was in Beijing this week. The Chinese and the Russians, while unhappy with any North Korean move to make nuclear weapons, have sided with the North in the past on the need for one-on-one talks with Washington. The ministers noted North Korea's statement that it had no intention of developing nuclear weapons, and statements by both the North and the US that they seek to resolve relevant problems peacefully.

In a meeting with Vice-President Hu Jintao, who is expected to become president after the National People's Congress next month, Mr Ivanov invited him to visit Moscow in May. Mr Hu praised efforts Mr Ivanov had made to cement the links between the two countries.



China and Russia unite to oppose war on Iraq