China urges North Korea to stop missile launch and nuclear tests
● Pyongyang told to avoid violating UN’S terms and to return to talks
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged North Korea to abide by UN resolutions and stop provoking “the international community’s goodwill” with missile launches and nuclear tests.
Mr Wang made the remarks after meeting North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in the Philippines hours after the UN Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions to punish Pyongyang for its escalating nuclear and missile programmes.
Mr Wang said the pair had an “intensive conversation” during which China urged North Korea to maintain calm.
He said he told Mr Ri “do not violate the UN decision or provoke the international community’s goodwill by conducting missile launches or nuclear tests”. Mr Wang refused to reveal how Mr Ri responded to his plea.
Mr Wang also urged the US and South Korea “to stop increasing tensions” and said all sides should return to negotiations.
Mr Wang also appealed to other governments to resume the six-nation talks that involve the North, the US, Russia, Japan and South Korea, as well as Beijing.
He said: “The aim is to bring the peninsula nuclear issue back to the negotiating table and seek a solution through negotiations until the denuclearisation of the peninsula and the stability of the peninsula are achieved.”
North Korea pulled out of the talks in 2009 to protest against international condemnation of a long-range rocket launch. Last month, it test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said Washington wants eventually to talk to North Korea, but thinks discussions would not be productive if Pyongyang comes with the intention of maintaining its nuclear weapons.
Mr Wang’s statement repeated Beijing’s proposal for a “double suspension,” or a halt to North Korean nuclear development and to joint Ussouth Korean military exercises. It said that was the most reasonable way to ease tensions and create conditions for new talks.
US President Trump’s administration cautiously embraced China’s apparent newfound cooperation, while putting it on notice that the US would be watching closely to ensure it would “not ease up” on North Korea.
The diplomatic wrangling sought to build on sweeping new North Korea sanctions passed by the UN Security Council which President Trump said would have a “very big financial impact” as both China and Russia had joined in the unanimous vote.
For the US, it was a longawaited sign of progress for Mr Trump’s strategy of trying to enlist Beijing’s help to squeeze Pyongyang diplomatically and economically.
Yesterday, officials in Bei- jing repeated call for the US and North Korea to resume negotiations. But the US officials refused and rejected yet again a Chinese call for the US to freeze joint military exercises with South Korea.
The US also said it planned to rigorously monitor China’s compliance with the new penalties. Susan Thornton, the top US diplomat for Asia, said Beijing had historically co-operated with sanctions after flagrant North Korean violations but then slipped back over time.
Despite deeming North Korea a top security threat, the Trump administration has struggled to find a strategy that differs significantly from what the US has tried in the past.
Aside from calling for more sanctions, Mr Trump’s approach has centered on enlisting China – the North’s biggest trading partner – and others to lessen ties to Pyongyang.