Wang, counterparts discuss peninsula

Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, calling for a peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

While meeting with US Vice-President Mike Pence on Wednesday, Wang reiterated that a peaceful settlement is in line with the common will of the global community.

Wang and Pence agreed that China and the United States shared important consensus on the denuclearization of the peninsula and safeguarding the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and they agreed to enhance communication.

The foreign minister also met on Wednesday with Kang Kyung-wha, his counterpart from the Republic of Korea.

Wang said Beijing will continue to strictly implement UN resolutions regarding Pyongyang and added the pressure of sanctions should be gradually converted to motivation for negotiations.

He said Beijing hopes Seoul will seriously consider China’s “suspension for suspension” proposal and make efforts to ease the current tension.

It is China’s unswerving goal to realize denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. China will stay the course no matter how long it takes and how difficult it is, he added.

Kang said the ROK absolutely does not want war again on the peninsula and will abide by its promise to not deploy strategic nuclear weapons on the peninsula.

Also on Wednesday, Wang met with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, calling on all parties to avoid letting the situation get out of control.

Gabriel said his country is deeply concerned about the situation and the fact that the international nonproliferation regime is under threat.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the General Assembly on Wednesday that the time for dialogue with Pyongyang is over, expressing support for the US stance that “all options are on the table”.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday that China did not see sanctions alone could help to achieve progress.