Few signs of strain at border

Beijing urges Pyongyang to halt N-programme

DANDONG, China, April 13, (RTRS): Despite heightened tension on the Korean peninsula and North Korea warning of a nuclear strike against any sign of US aggression, there were few signs of strain on Thursday on the main border post between China and the reclusive nation.

In Dandong, through which about three-quarters of China’s trade with North Korea flows, long queues of trucks heading in both directions formed across the Friendship Bridge, despite what locals said was a relative lull due to the North’s most important national holiday on Saturday marking the birth of founder president Kim Il Sung.

China has signed up to wide-ranging United Nations sanctions designed at halting Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and local traders told Reuters that blanket bans on key North Korean commodities exports like coal, iron ore powder and precious metals have dealt a blow to business.

Trade across the border is now mainly food, textiles, plastic goods, other household items and some commodities, the traders said.

Dandong residents said they were well aware of the mounting tension on the Korean peninsula, fuelled by Pyongyang’s repeated ballistic missile and nuclear tests, South Korea’s installation of the THAAD anti-missile system in response, and a US aircraft carrier group heading to the region in a show of force.

Most expressed a little anxiety, but were largely confident the situation would not flare out of control.

“If a war starts, then the situation on the peninsula will completely get chaotic,” said 66-year-old retiree Cai Zhengsun, who was strolling along the Yalu River, which marks the border between the two countries.

“When Xi Jinping spoke with the US president, he mentioned maintaining the peace on the peninsula,” Cai said, referring to Wednesday’s telephone conversation between the leaders of the China and the United States.

“(Xi) won’t allow any attacks. Although the US is the world’s hegemonic power, it wouldn’t dare to take actions.”

China, which shares a long land border with North Korea, is the reclusive state’s sole major ally and main trading partner.

At their Florida summit meeting last week, US President Donald Trump pressed Xi to do more to curb North Korea’s nuclear programme. Trump said on Tuesday that North Korea was “looking for trouble” and Washington would “solve the problem” with or without China’s help.

Nuclear

The worry is that the reclusive North could hold its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of United Nations sanctions around the time of its founder’s birth anniversary. Trump has put North Korea on notice that he will not tolerate provocative actions.

Meanwhile, Military force cannot resolve tension over North Korea, China said on Thursday, while an influential Chinese newspaper urged the North to halt its nuclear programme in exchange for Chinese protection.

With a US aircraft carrier group steaming to the area and tension rising, South Korea said it believed the United States would consult it before any preemptive strike against the North.

Fears have been growing that the reclusive North could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of U.N. sanctions and stark warnings from the United States that a policy of patience was over.

China, North Korea’s sole major ally and benefactor, which nevertheless opposes its weapons programme, has called for talks leading to a peaceful resolution and the denuclearistaion of the peninsula.

“Military force cannot resolve the issue,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Beijing.

“Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks.”

While US President Donald Trump has put North Korea on notice that he would not tolerate any provocation, US officials have said his administration was focusing its strategy on tougher economic sanctions.

Trump has diverted the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group towards the Korean peninsula, which could take more than a week to arrive, in a show of force aimed at deterring North Korea from conducting another nuclear test or launching more missiles to coincide with important events and anniversaries.

The possibility of US military action gained traction after the US Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in response to a deadly gas attack.

Wang warned that history would hold any instigator to account.

“Whoever provokes the situation, whoever continues to make trouble in this place, they will have to assume historical responsibility,” Wang said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told parliament in Seoul he believed Washington would consult Seoul if it was considering a pre-emptive strike. The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea.