China backs N. Korea ‘ measures’
But it’s iffy on U. N. pressure; military step still Trump option
BEIJING — China’s foreign minister said Thursday that Beijing would support further U. N.- imposed “measures” against North Korea after its largest nuclear test, while U. S. President Donald Trump reiterated that military action is “certainly” an option against the nation.
The comments by Wang Yi stopped short of saying whether China would back tougher economic sanctions such as halts to fuel shipments, but they suggested possible room for cooperation over U. S.- drafted plans to increase pressures on North Korea after its nuclear test earlier this week.
Trump has made a priority of pressuring China to “do more” on North Korea. After Sunday’s missile test, he tweeted that Pyongyang has become a “threat and embarrassment to China.”
China — the main economic lifeline for North Korea — has long been hesitant to completely cut off the crude- oil supply to North Korea, wary that economic instability could spur a flood of refugees and U. S. soldiers to its doorstep.
“Given the new developments on the Korean Peninsula, China agrees that the U. N. Security Council should respond further by taking necessary measures,” Wang told reporters.
“We believe that sanctions and pressure are only half of the key to resolving the issue. The other half is dialogue and negotiation,” he added.
Wang did not specify what type of measures he had in mind, compounding questions about what the international community can do next.
The United States is seeking the toughest- yet U. N. sanctions against North Korea, according to a draft resolution circulated Wednesday. The sanctions would stop all oil and natural gas exports and freeze the government’s foreign financial assets.
North Korea greeted the proposal with a threat: “We will respond to the barbaric plotting
around sanctions and pressure by the United States with powerful counter measures of our own,” read a statement delivered at a summit in Russia on Thursday.
Russia, which has veto power at the United Nations, has also expressed opposition to the plan.
Russia and China are in favor of a “double suspension” deal that would see North Korea halt nuclear and missile tests if the United States and South Korea stop holding joint military exercises — a plan that the U. S. and South Korea have rejected.
But after a Wednesday night phone call with the Chinese president, Trump struck a more conciliatory tone, suggesting that he and Xi Jinping were largely in agreement on what to do.
“I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent,” Trump told reporters.
He continued: “We had a very, very frank and very strong phone call. President Xi would like to do something.”
Trump, like Wang, did not specify what that something might be.
On Thursday, he said at a White House news conference that “military action would certainly be an option.”
Pressed on whether he could accept a scenario in which the isolated nation had nukes but was “contained and deterred,” Trump demurred. “I don’t put my negotiations on the table, unlike past administrations. I don’t talk about them. But I can tell you North Korea is behaving badly and it’s got to stop.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae- in, said Thursday that they saw the Trump administration as willing to solve the North Korean crisis through diplomacy.
“We see the administration’s desire to defuse this situation,” Putin said alongside Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a forum in Vladivostok.
Putin said North Korea won’t agree to end its nuclear program in return for easing sanctions.
“It’s impossible to scare them,” Putin said of North Korea. “They think that means the next step for them is an invitation to the cemetery.”
Moon said his nation was increasing pressure on Pyongyang in the hope of achieving a diplomatic and peaceful resolution to the crisis.
“I can say for sure that there will be no war on the Korean Peninsula again,” Moon said. He said he saw no difference with the U. S. on the principle that the North Korean nuclear issue should be resolved through talks.
Abe took a harder line, saying North Korea must be forced to give up its entire nuclear weapons and missile program.
The leaders’ comments came hours after South Korea bolstered its defenses against North Korean rockets, with the arrival of four launchers for a U. S. missile shield at a military base in South Korea.