Chinese military delegation to visit North Korea

The Associatedf Press

SEOUL, South Korea -- A high-level Chinese military delegation will visit North Korea soon, Pyongyang's official news agency said Saturday.

Col. Gen. Xu Caihou, director of the general political department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, will lead the delegation, KCNA said.

China -- North Korea's closest ally -- will host multilateral talks on Aug. 27-29 in a bid to defuse tensions over the North's suspected development of nuclear weapons.

Representatives of the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas will meet for the talks in Beijing.

The nuclear dispute flared in October, when U.S. officials said North Korea admitted having a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of international agreements.