US diplomat Kurt Campbell on Wednesday urged “all parties” to refrain from “any provocations” after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s death, as he left China, where he met foreign ministry officials. Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, is the first US diplomat to visit China — North Korea’s closest ally — since Kim died from a heart attack on December 17. “We both underscored how important it will be over the course of the coming months to maintain very close contact between Washington and Beijing,” said Campbell, who met vice-foreign ministers Zhang Zhijun and Cui Tiankai.
