China urges N.Korea and USA to ‘hit the brakes’
CHINA has urged the United States and North Korea to “hit the brakes” on threatening words and work towards a peaceful resolution of a stand-off over Pyongyang’s recent missile tests and threats to fire them towards Guam.
The dispute has also raised fears in South Korea, where a conservative political party called for the United States to bring back tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that the two countries should work together to contain tensions and permit no-one to “stir up an incident on their doorstep”.
Mr Wang said: “The most important task at hand is for the US and North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on their needling of each other, to lower the temperature of the tense situation and prevent the emergence of an ‘August crisis’.”
Russia said it is against further tightening sanctions on North Korea, warning that economic pressure on Pyongyang has reached its limit.
Mr Lavrov warned “we can’t support ideas by some of our partners to suffocate North Korea economically with all the consequences for its citizens”.
He added that the “potential for economic pressure has been practically exhausted” and emphasised the need to encourage political settlement.
The Russian foreign minister reaffirmed a call by China and Russia for the US to suspend forthcoming annual military exercises with South Korea in exchange for Pyongyang halting its missile and nuclear tests as a first step toward direct talks.
China is North Korea’s main economic partner and political backer, although relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have deteriorated amid the North’s continuing defiance of China’s calls for restraint.
In recent months China has joined with Russia in calling for the US to suspend the annual military drills, which enrage North Korean officials.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, continued a visit to China following talks the day before with his Chinese counterpart.
Speaking to reporters after viewing a Chinese military exercise outside the north-eastern city of Shenyang, Gen Dunford said he told General Fang Fenghui that the US hoped diplomatic and economic pressure would convince North Korea to end its nuclear programme, but that it was also preparing military options.
He said: “We hope for a peaceful resolution but we needed to seriously have a conversation about what might happen if there was military action.”