‘N. Korea, US like trains on track to collide’

> China proposes deal, slams THAAD system

BEIJING: China yesterday called on North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting military wargames, to prevent what it called a “head-on collision”.

Foreign minister Wang Yi’s proposal came after a cascade of events that has led to a dramatic spike in tensions in the region, including a volley of North Korean missile tests that flew provocatively close to Japan.

China is particularly concerned over the deployment this week of America’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system which is being rolled out in South Korea as a shield against the growing missile threat.

Wang warned of a “looming crisis” stoked by North Korean nuclear and missile tests and annual US-South Korean military exercises.

“The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way,” Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of China’s annual parliament session.

“The question is: are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.”

He proposed that North Korea “suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the halt of the large-scale USSouth Korea exercises”.

Pyongyang blasted at least four missiles across the sea towards Japan on Monday, and three of the rockets splashed down into Japanese waters.

Seoul and Washington have begun annual joint exercises that always infuriate Pyongyang, and the US has started deploying an anti-missile system directed at North Korea but which Beijing has taken as a threat to its own defence interests.

Wang said China’s proposal could help bring the US and North Korea back to the “negotiating table” for talks on ending Pyongyang’s weapons programmes.

But it mirrors past offers made by North Korea that were rejected by the administration of US president Barack Obama, which said North Korea had no right to demand concessions in return for abiding by UN resolutions.

Six sets of UN sanctions since the North’s first nuclear test in 2006 have failed to halt its drive for what it insists are defensive weapons.

Wang continued China’s hammering of the THAAD system in South Korea.

He said the “very controversial THAAD system is the biggest issue” facing China-South Korean relations, adding that it “undermines China’s strategic security”. – AFP

This undated picture released by Korean Central News Agency via KNS on Tuesday shows the launch of four ballistic missiles by the Korean People’s Army during a military drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea.