New NK nuclear test 'possible'
Source: Agencies |
April 23, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
China's top general said yesterday that a fourth North Korean nuclear weapons test is a possibility that underscores the need for fresh talks between Pyongyang and other regional parties.
Chief of the General Staff General Fang Fenghui said China firmly opposes North Korea's nuclear weapons program and wants to work with others on negotiations to end it.
He said Beijing's preference is for a return to long-stalled disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.
"We ask all sides to work actively to work on the North Koreans to stop nuclear tests and stop producing nuclear weapons," Fang told reporters. "We believe that dialogue should be the right solution."
His comments followed a meeting with visiting General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Fang also commented over recent US reports of Chinese military-sponsored hacking attacks on US targets, saying China opposed all such activity. He said China itself is a victim of hackers.
"If control is lost over security in cyberspace, the effects can be, and I don't exaggerate, at times no less than a nuclear bomb," Fang said.
Dempsey sought to allay Chinese unease about the US military's renewed focus on Asia. "One of the things I talked about today with the general, is we seek to be a stabilizing influence in the region. And in fact, we believe, that it would be our absence that would be destabilizing, not our presence," he said.
Chief of the General Staff General Fang Fenghui said China firmly opposes North Korea's nuclear weapons program and wants to work with others on negotiations to end it.
He said Beijing's preference is for a return to long-stalled disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.
"We ask all sides to work actively to work on the North Koreans to stop nuclear tests and stop producing nuclear weapons," Fang told reporters. "We believe that dialogue should be the right solution."
His comments followed a meeting with visiting General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Fang also commented over recent US reports of Chinese military-sponsored hacking attacks on US targets, saying China opposed all such activity. He said China itself is a victim of hackers.
"If control is lost over security in cyberspace, the effects can be, and I don't exaggerate, at times no less than a nuclear bomb," Fang said.
Dempsey sought to allay Chinese unease about the US military's renewed focus on Asia. "One of the things I talked about today with the general, is we seek to be a stabilizing influence in the region. And in fact, we believe, that it would be our absence that would be destabilizing, not our presence," he said.
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