China working nonstop on NK: official
Trump appreciates eff orts of China, ‘ but it has not worked out’
China said Wednesday it has made “unremitting” eff orts to ease tensions with North Korea after US President Donald Trump tweeted that Beijing had not succeeded in helping.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was not the “focus and the crux” of the issue on the Korean Peninsula and it has stepped up eff orts to promote peace talks.
“In order to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China has been making un- remitting eff orts and we have been playing an important and constructive role,” Geng said.
“To sum up, our contributions are recognized by all and our eff orts are indispensable.”
Trump wrote on Twitter that while he appreciated the eff orts of President Xi Jinping and China to help with North Korea, “it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!”
The tweet came a day after the death of Otto Warmbier – a US student who returned in a coma from a prison in North Korea – and on the eve of a US- China strategic security dialogue.
Trump’s statement is likely to increase pressure on Beijing at the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, which pairs US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and General Fang Fenghui, chief of Joint Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army.
Top diplomats and defense chiefs began a day of talks in Washington on Wednesday looking for ways to press North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs.
The US State Department said Wednesday’s talks would focus on ways to increase pressure on North Korea, but also cover such areas as counter- terrorism and territorial rivalries in the South China Sea.
“China’s eff orts to resolve the peninsula nuclear issue is not due to any external pressure, but because China is a member of the region and a responsible member of the international community, and because resolving the peninsula nuclear issue is in China’s interests,” Geng said.
Trump and Xi had a highprofi le summit in Florida in April and Trump has frequently praised Xi.