Chinese FM, Rice discuss N. Korea nuclear issue

China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks by telephone about the North Korean nuclear issue and China-US ties, the ministry said. The call took place Tuesday evening Beijing time amid a flurry of diplomatic exchanges aimed at resuming international talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs. A brief statement posted on the ministry's Web site said the two exchanged views on "China-US strategic cooperative relations and the Korean peninsula nuclear issue." It gave no details. It did not say whether Li and Rice discussed Beijing's recent anti-satellite missile, which has alarmed the US and other countries.