Pyongyang on dangerous, disastrous path: experts
China is unlikely to take extreme measures in imposing sanctions on North Korea, such as cutting off its oil supply completely, although the Sunday nuclear test, which Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb, could trigger an even tougher round of UN Security Council sanctions, experts said.
North Korea’s state television claimed on Sunday that Pyongyang’s test of a hydrogen bomb was a “perfect success” and a “meaningful” step in completing the country’s nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported. It added that the bomb was designed to be mounted on its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Residents in Northeast China’s Jilin Province said they were rattled by the quake triggered by the nuclear test.
A resident surnamed Liu told the Global Times that she felt vigorous shaking while lying in bed, and that the tremor lasted for about 30 seconds. Liu said that most of the local residents were complaining about North Korea’s move as it had affected their daily lives.
The nuclear test came after the UN Security Council Resolution 2371 in August, which bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the current number of North Korean laborers working abroad, forming new joint ventures with North Korea and making any new investment in existing joint ventures.
Following Sunday’s nuclear test, both Japan and South Korea called for further sanctions to isolate North Korea.
China needs to cautiously choose sanctions against North Korea, and probably won’t agree to resort to extreme measures like closing off the border or cutting the oil supply entirely, because China does not want direct conflict with its neighbor North Korea, said Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences.
The US has been blaming and pressuring China to take more responsibility in dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, for once the situation escalates, the US can find an excuse for interfering in the issue without consulting the UN Security Council, where China is a permanent member, he said.
Widespread opposition
China’s foreign ministry said Sunday China firmly opposes and strongly denounces North Korea’s nuclear test, which was conducted despite widespread opposition from the international community.
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection launched a second-degree emergency plan to inspect radiation level in Northeast China after the nuclear test.
Meeting at the sidelines of the BRICS Xiamen Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed Sunday to stick to the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and keep close communication and coordination to deal with the new situation.
By launching its sixth nuclear test, North Korea hopes to be accepted by the international community and bring the US back to the negotiation table, while also improving its nuclear technology, said Jin Canrong, associate dean of the Department of International Studies at the Renmin University of China.
“North Korea is heading on a more dangerous and even a disastrous path by conducting its sixth nuclear test amid the most severe international sanctions,” Lü Chao, a researcher on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.
He noted that the possibility of a US military action has increased.
However, China’s principle of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula won’t change, because a chaotic Korean Peninsula would severely harm Northwest Asia and threaten China, he said.