Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
China wants N Korea to ‘pay the price’
MUNICH: China will back a UN Security Council resolution to make North Korea “pay the necessary price” for recent rocket launches, its foreign minister said yesterday, adding the goal was to get Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
Wang Yi also said he was concerned by a possible US deployment of its sophisticated Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile defence system to South Korea, saying it could also be used to target China.
North Korea has been under UN sanctions since its first nuclear test in 2006. It has conducted three more atomic tests since then, including last month’s, and numerous ballistic missile launches.
Washington and Beijing have appeared divided over how to respond to North Korea, with the US urging tougher sanctions and China stressing the need for dialogue. However, Wang said it was time for a “strong” resolution covering a wide range of areas.
“(We) support the United Nations Security Council to take further steps and in adopting a new resolution so that North Korea will pay the necessary price and show there are consequences for its behaviour,” the minister said.
Diplomats say the Americans have been pushing for tough measures that go beyond targeting North Korea’s atomic weapons and missile programmes, while China wanted any future steps to focus on the question of nonproliferation.
When asked if Beijing was ready to support stronger economic sanctions, Wang said the resolution would be wide-ranging, but its objective should be to curb Pyongyang’s efforts to develop nuclear and missile technologies.
The discussions would focus on placing one Terminal High Altitude Area Defence unit with the US military in South Korea after the North’s launch last weekend, a South Korean defence official told Reuters. – Reuters