Japan, South Korea urge China to do more to ‘pressure’ North Korea
TOKYO: Japan and South Korea urged China to do more to ‘pressure’ North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programmes, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said yesterday, as tension builds amid a standoff between North Korea and the United States.
North Korea has boasted of developing a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching the mainland United States in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions and international condemnation, including from its lone major ally, China.
“China is currently implementing the United Nations Security Council resolutions (on North Korea), but China can probably do more,” Kono said after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.
“We agreed on the need to put pressure firmly on North Korea.”
The US Navy’s top officer said yesterday said that vessels from eastern Pacific could be brought forward to reinforce US naval power in Asia as Washington contends with increased threats in the region.
North Korea has defended its weaponsprogrammesasnecessary to counter US aggression and sees the military drills the United States holds with South Korea and Japan as preludes to invasion.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged bellicose rhetoric in recent weeks, with Trump threatening to destroy North Korea if provoked, while US diplomats have stressed the importance of diplomacy. — Reuters