Military action not an option to solve N Korea issue – China

CHINA has declared that the North Korean nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue, and that military means were not an option.

The statement follows US President Donald Trump’s warning to North Korea that any US military option would be “devastating”.

Bellicose statements by Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in recent weeks have created fears that a miscalculation could lead to action with untold ramifications, particularly since Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3.

Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated that China has all along upheld the aim of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and protecting the international nuclear nonproliferation system.

“At the same, we are resolute in working for the protection of the peninsula’s peace and stability and uphold a peaceful resolution for the nuclear issue via dialogue and consultation,” Mr Lu said.

“We have always believed that military means should not be an option to resolve the nuclear issue on the peninsula. Because arms cannot resolve the differences and can only cause a bigger disaster. No side can accept this.

“We hope all sides can avoid words and actions that intensify the problem and may cause the situation to continue to escalate.”

North Korea will be high on the agenda when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits China later this week.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Monday accused Mr Trump of declaring war on the North and threatened that Pyongyang would shoot down US warplanes flying near the Korean Peninsula after American bombers flew close to it last Saturday.

Mr Ri was reacting to Mr Trump’s Twitter comments that Mr Kim (below) and Mr Ri “won’t be around much longer” if they acted on their threats toward the United States.

Meanwhile, France’s foreign minister also claimed that Mr Trump’s verbal jousting with North Korea was perhaps not the best method to handle the nuclear crisis and urged the US president to focus his attention on raising diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang.

“Trump’s method is perhaps not the best, but at the same time we shouldn’t mix up the responsibilities,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM TV.

“The country that is breaking with nuclear international agreements is North Korea.

“President Trump is reacting forcefully to this, but without a doubt there is a way to act in a different way by putting pressure and sanctions.”

‘Arms cannot resolve the differences and can only cause a bigger disaster’