Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei was still in North Korea, the spokeswoman said, contradicting earlier Korean media reports that he had returned home. Vice Premier Hui Liangyu flew to North Korea on Monday for a six-day visit.

"The problems cannot be resolved in one or two trips and solely through diplomatic efforts by the Chinese side," the spokeswoman said.

A U.S. State Department official said on Sunday Washington believed it had the backing in the 15-member council for the resolution to pass. Veto-wielding China opposes sanctions.

Hill rushed to northeast Asia late last week, visiting Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo in an effort to forge a unified response to Wednesday's multiple missile launches, which have ratcheted up tension and exposed fault lines in responses by regional powers.

China, backed by Russia, submitted its own draft of a U.N. Security Council statement on Monday, fearing that a binding resolution imposing sanctions might be used to lay the groundwork for future military action. South Korea also opposes sanctions.

The United States, Britain and Japan, however, disagreed with China's proposed statement.

Tokyo reiterated on Tuesday it intended to call for a vote on the binding resolution eventually. "There is no change in our basic stance," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso said separately that Japan wanted to see a decision on the resolution before the July 15-17 Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, and that the minimum content would be a ban on providing missile technology to North Korea.

China's draft contains nearly all the elements of Japan's rival resolution but is not legally binding.

The Japanese resolution invokes Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which makes it mandatory for all U.N. members and in certain circumstances lays the groundwork for military force.