From The Telegraph:
America and China are holding secret talks about their shared fear of instability in nuclear-armed North Korea amid reports that the country’s diminutive bouffant-haired dictator Kim Jong-il suffered a serious stroke last month.
[…] A senior administration official told Fox News that the US and China, which have often been rivals over regional politics, were holding highly-sensitive talks about what to do if there is ensuing instability in North Korea.
Although Beijing is regarded as an ally of Pyongyang, it does not want its impoverished neighbour to implode, potentially creating a wave of refugees trying to reach China.