Missiles blamed on US refusal to talk
Print Edition
CHINA says the root cause of North Korea鈥檚 missile launches is Pyongyang鈥檚 friction with the United States and South Korea.
North Korea fired a banned ballistic missile on Sunday, its first test since US President Donald Trump took office. The missile, launched as Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida, is believed to have flown about 500 kilometers before splashing down in international waters.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the launch violated UN Security Council resolutions that call for an end to North Korea鈥檚 nuclear and missile tests.
Trump has complained that Beijing is not doing enough to put pressure on Pyongyang. Beijing counters that its influence is overstated and suggests Washington鈥檚 refusal to talk directly to North Korea is impeding progress toward a solution.
鈥淭he root cause of the nuclear missile issue is its differences with the US and South Korea,鈥 Geng told reporters.
Geng said China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has been 鈥渃ompletely and comprehensively鈥 implementing Security Council resolutions on the nuclear issue.
He said Beijing 鈥渉as been striving for a settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue by proactively engaging in mediation and promoting peace talks.鈥
Although generally dismissive of sanctions, Beijing has signed on to successive rounds under the UN Security Council, and last month banned more items from being exported to North Korea, including plutonium and dual-use technologies that could aid its nuclear program.
Geng urged all sides to refrain from provocative actions and said China would continue to participate in Security Council discussions in a constructive and responsible way.
Beijing appears concerned that the US and South Korea will speed up the planned deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea that the two allies said was designed to counter a missile attack from North Korea. Beijing objects to the system because it would possibly be able to observe Chinese military movements.
Shi Yuanhua, a Korean studies professor at Shanghai鈥檚 Fudan University, said that from Pyongyang鈥檚 perspective it was a good time to launch a missile because the new US administration hadn鈥檛 decided what approach to take with North Korea, and Beijing was at odds with Washington and Seoul over the anti-missile system.
鈥淲hether or not to abandon nuclear weapons concerns North Korea鈥檚 core national interests and there is no way for China to get it to change its stance with a few words of persuasion, and it can鈥檛 solve the problem by applying a ban on exports,鈥 Shi said.
鈥淭he key for solving the problem lies in the hands of the US. If the US is willing to sit and talk with North Korea, China will be happy to promote it,鈥 he added.
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