The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Johnson calls on China to restrain North Korea
Foreign Secretary also calls on Russia to end its ‘blind support’ for Assad
Boris Johnson has called on Russia to end its “blind support” for Syrian President Bashar Assad, while urging China to use its influence to restrain North Korea.
The Foreign Secretary said the United States missile attack in response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons “creates an opportunity to break the deadlock” and pave the way for a political settlement.
He also said China has a role to play in delivering a peaceful resolution to the rising tensions in the Korean peninsula, amid warnings from Pyongyang about the risk of nuclear war.
Mr Johnson updated MPs on global events after the Commons returned following the Easter recess.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson said Britain was given advanced notice of the US operation to attack the Syrian government airfield suspected of launching the chemical attack, although “at no stage” was UK military help sought.
Mr Johnson said the UK has “no intention of dislodging Russian interests in Syria”, adding: “But Russia’s position in Syria does not depend on Assad.”
On North Korea, Mr Johnson said no one can be complacent about the threat posed by missiles being developed by the Pyongyang regime.
He said: “Yesterday I spoke to my Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and I urged him to use Beijing’s unique influence to restrain North Korea and to allow peaceful resolution of this crisis.
“By suspending their coal imports from North Korea, China has given a welcome signal of its willingness to exert pressure on the regime.
North Korea’s deputy United Nations ambassador Kim In Ryong has accused the United States of creating “a dangerous situation in which a thermonuclear war may break out at any moment”.
Mr Trump has sent an aircraft carrier and supporting warships to the region and on Monday Vice-President Mike Pence travelled to the Demilitarised Zone dividing North and South Korea.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry criticised Mr Johnson’s efforts to introduce fresh sanctions against Russia at the G7 last week.
She said: “The only straw he can cling onto, we presume, is this – that the United States state department is still telling him what to say and do, and which countries he is allowed to visit.”