Beijing calls for calming of Korean Peninsula tensions
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang called for full implementation of the United Nations resolutions regarding Pyongyang, and urged parties involved to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
While showing the international community’s firm commitment to realizing the peninsula’s denuclearization, the resolutions request that all parties commit to resolve the issue peacefully, Lu said at a daily news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
“We hope these resolutions will be implemented in a way that is comprehensive, accurate and balanced,” Lu said, commenting on remarks US President Donald Trump made in his debut speech at the UN General Assembly.
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump threatened to totally destroy the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea if the United States is forced to defend itself or its allies.
Lu said the peninsula’s situation remains complicated and sensitive, and urged all relevant parties to “implement the Security Council resolutions comprehensively and fully, and at the same time practice restraint”.
Lu called for them to do more to reduce tensions and take measures to assist in the resumption of talks over the peninsula’s nuclear issue.
The spokesman also commented on Trump’s remarks on UN reform.
Lu said China has been supporting the UN’s reform efforts to enhance its capacity to coordinate among countries coping with global challenges, and China “has been keeping good communication and coordination with parties including the US” over the reform.
The international community has high expectations for “the most representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization”, which has made important contributions to international peace and development, while it also needs to keep improving, Lu said.
Trump also cited the South China Sea as among “threats to sovereignty” in his speech.
Lu said the fact that “some countries” have frequently dispatched their military vessels and aircraft near the territory of countries surrounding the South China Sea under the name of so-called freedom of navigation is a threat to the regional countries’ sovereignty.
“We hope there will be no such threats in the future,” the spokesman said, urging countries outside the South China Sea region to respect the situation there, which is becoming stable thanks to joint efforts made by regional countries.