Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has criticized South Korea’s decision to deploy an advanced USA anti-missile defense system to counter threats from North Korea, saying it harmed the foundation of their trust.
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Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida held a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung Se, in the capital of Laos on Monday, with the ministers confirming that the governments will sincerely implement a Japan-South Korea deal that was reached late previous year over so-called comfort women.
Ri insisted that the North was a “responsible nuclear state” which would only strike if threatened, and he called on the United States to withdraw its troops from South Korea immediately.
A South Korean agreement with the United States to deploy an antimissile system against its neighbor to the north has upset not just Pyongyang, North Korea.
In a later statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said Wang said South Korea should think twice about the deployment of THAAD, and should value improving its ties between it and Beijing.
In this photo taken on July 26, 2016, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho attends a press meeting with global media on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum held in Laos.
“And recently they committed the most grave hostility by insulting our Dear Leader”, Ri said, referring to the USA decision to personally blacklist Kim Jong-Un over human rights abuses.
North Korea launched its latest nuclear test in January and carried out multiple missile tests since February this year.
He adds that North Korea’s decision on conducting another nuclear test will “entirely hinge on the United States’s attitude”.
While the U.S. insists the system is to defend South Korea from possible attacks from North Korea, Chinese officials have condemned its planned deployment, saying it threatens Chinas security.
“It is a step that is directly in response to the threat posed by North Korea in its nuclear and missile programs”, the official said.
Experts in South Korea and China have predicted that Beijing will not impose any major economic sanctions on Seoul because that would harm both nations’ economies – especially at a time when the global economy growth is slowing.
State propaganda has previously proclaimed the excessive number of stick insects in North Korean corn fields in the past was a result of USA imperialist scheming, the source added.
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Minister Ri also criticized Seoul’s recent decision to deploy an advanced USA anti-missile system in South Korea. “Together we are determined. that there are real consequences for these actions”, he said.
