A Taiwanese media organization says that North Korea and China are holding negotiations in secret on dismantling the North’s nuclear weapons.

Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said on Sunday that the United States has given up resolving the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomatic channels, but Chinese authorities are still seeking to deal with the issue through diplomacy.

The report said that Pyongyang is demanding China ensure the North's security and economic gain and give a period of three years to abandon nuclear weapons.

However, Beijing is reportedly asking the North to dismantle nuclear weapons within three months and to accept the offer within two to three weeks.

Hong Kong-based military commentator Liang Guoliang said that the report is highly likely to be true, saying that China, the United States and Russia recently agreed on the need to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The commentator projected that there is about a 50 percent chance that China and North Korea will reach an agreement during their talks, adding if Pyongyang rejects China’s offer, Beijing will likely give up diplomatic arbitration.

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