US loses patience with North Korea
Military action not a solution to ongoing tensions on peninsula: Chinese experts
Chinese experts said the Trump administration should not abandon its policy of patience with North Korea after the US vice president declared the end of the strategic policy.
“When it comes to North Korea, under this administration, the era of strategic patience is over,” US Vice President Mike Pence said during a speech at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC on Thursday US time.
This is not the first time an end has been declared to the patience policy that was proposed by the Obama administration and implemented for several years.
During his visit to South Korea in March, top US diplomat Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the policy of strategic patience with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs has ended, warning
that military action is now “on the table,” Reuters reported.
However, the US has to be patient, as currently there is no better solution than sanctions, and its military actions and pressure on China do not work well, Shi Yinhong, director of the Center for American Studies at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday.
Calling Pence’s remarks “exaggerated rhetoric,” Shi said they actually reflect US anger and anxiety over North Korea’s regular missile tests as well as the tragic death of US university student Otto Warmbier soon after he was returned home in a coma after being jailed by North Korea while vacationing in Pyongyang.
In his Thursday speech that was published on the White House’s official website, Pence said North Korea’s treatment of Warmbier was a “disgrace,” adding that it only deepens US determination to prevent similar tragedies.
However, North Korea said on Friday that the cause of Warmbier’s death is a “mystery” and rejected accusations that the student died as a result of torture during his captivity as “groundless,” Reuters reported.
Pence added that the US will continue to work with its allies across the region, China and the wider world to bring increased economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on the government of North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all.
Unlike his predecessor, Donald Trump’s administration will be more proactive and take a tougher stance on North Korea, with the military approach always a possibility, Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday.
However, as North Korea remains a very significant factor for the peace and stability of Northeast Asia, it will still take time to find a solution that appropriately balances the interests of all relevant parties, said experts.
The root of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is security, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing on Friday.
He said a solution will require comprehensive mea- sures and addressing both the symptoms and root causes.
China is willing to maintain close contact and coordinate with the US on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue in an effort to diffuse tensions and push for the resolution of the issue, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said when he met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday.
The US looks forward to enhancing cooperation with China on the issue to realize a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, Trump said.
Trump said he looks forward to meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the upcoming G20 summit in July in Hamburg, Germany and paying a state visit to China at Xi’s invitation later this year.
Involvement limited
During the Thursday meeting with Trump, Yang said that China appreciated the US president sending representatives to participate in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held last month in Beijing, and reaffirmed China’s willingness to work with the US under the initiative.
Trump said the US is willing to cooperate with China on relevant projects under the Belt and Road initiative.
The initiative will bring many opportunities for US companies that possess leading technology or experience in various sectors, such as infrastructure and environmental protection, said Wu of Fudan University.
Driven by the initiative, US conglomerate General Electric said it would work with Chinese partners to build three power plants in Pakistan to improve local energy infrastructure, the Xinhua News Agency reported in March.
However, US involvement will probably be comparatively limited as it is unlikely that the country will make large investments in the initiative, Wu noted.
Since 2013, China has invested more than $50 billion in the countries along the Belt and Road initiative’s route. In 2016 alone, direct investment reached $14.5 billion, or 8.5 percent of China’s total outbound investment that year, according to Xinhua.