China’s fury at call for North Korea sanctions

CHINA hit back angrily last night after Theresa May called on Beijing to curb North Korea’s aggression.

As she flew into the crisis region, Mrs May declined to rule out British military intervention but said Beijing had a key part to play in reining in its secretive communist ally.

A Chinese official later warned that countries would “reap what they sow” by focusing on sanctions and other pressure on North Korea while ignoring the potential of peace talks.

Mrs May arrived in Japan as North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un’s regime escalated tensions by firing a test missile over a northern Japanese island. It sparked air raid warnings before landing harmlessly in the Pacific. Mrs May dodged reporters’ questions about possible British military action and suggestions that the UK could use cyber warfare to thwart future missile launches.

She insisted that the UK’s best path was to work with international partners to pile further pressure on Pyongyang and China was best-placed to rein in its communist ally.

She said: “The actions of North Korea are illegal. They are significant actions of provocation. It is outrageous.” She added that Britain was “redoubling” efforts with international partners to put pressure on North Korea but she had previously told the Chinese president that China had a key role to play.

Later a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman criticised countries that urged China to do more. He said: “They only pay attention to sanctions and pressure and ignore peace talks. When we promote peace talks they ignore this.”

The war of words between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un escalated yesterday. The US President tweeted that “talking is not the answer” and the US had been paying “extortion money” to the regime in Pyongyang. The President has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the US.