China urges SK to help resume talks
Multilateral dialogue will prevent N. Korea from developing nukes: envoy
The escalating animosity between the US and North Korea will do nothing to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, experts said, after China called for a multilateral dialogue.
A multilateral dialogue is a must to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and achieving peace on the Korea Peninsula, Wu Dawei, the Chinese special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, said on Tuesday, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
However, the US and North Korea refuse to have a dialogue, though China has always sought to resolve ( the North is- sue) through talks, Wu said. He also called on South Korea to help resume talks.
US President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday, “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U. S. A.”
Wu, who is on a four- day visit to South Korea, had met with his counterpart Kim Hongkyun and presidential candidates Yoo Seong- min and Sim Sang- jung respectively.
The US hinted that the recent military strike against Syria was a warning to North Korea, and the USS Carl Vinson- led Naval Strike Group is en route to the western Pacific Ocean near the Korean Peninsula. It will take the strike group more than a week to reach its destination, Reuters reported.
South Korean presidential frontrunner Moon Jae- in said on Tuesday in response to the US military threat, “I want to make it clear: Military action on the Korean Peninsula cannot happen without South Korea’s consent,” the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
North Korea also harshly responded to the US action.
“The DPRK ( North Korea) is ready to respond to any kind of battle the US desires, if the US prefers military action,” North Korea’s state- run Korean Central News Agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
“We will take the toughest measures against the provocateurs and keep to the road we’ve chosen,” the spokesman said.
“The Korean Peninsula is in a ‘ tit- for- tat situation’ as a real military confrontation between North Korea and the US is emerging,” said Zhang Liangui, a professor on the Korean Peninsula issue at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
However, the assumption that North Korea may have new nuclear and missile tests this month could be false, experts noted.
Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies of Fudan University said that North Korea is unlikely to conduct its sixth nuclear test in April, as the country is preparing for several events.
The presence of foreigners in North Korea for festivals might curb their action, Zheng added. “Its national image would be tarnished if they use foreigners as ‘ hostages’ at this particular moment.”
North Korea will celebrate the 105th birthday of its founding father, Kim Il- sung, on Saturday, and the 85th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on April 25.