South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday discussed “specific ways” to enact a strong punishment against North Korea for its recent nuclear test, Yun’s ministry said.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 17, 2015.
The United States and governments with rival territorial claims with China in the disputed region, including the Philippines and Vietnam, have expressed alarm over the construction.
Kerry made the remark at a press roundtable during a visit to the Laotian capital of Vientiane, talking about his upcoming trip to China aimed at discussing how to deal with North Korea in the wake of its fourth nuclear test, according to a State Department transcript.
The United States has suggested China could do more, and on Monday before leaving for Beijing, Kerry told reporters in Vientiane that North Korea’s nuclear program also poses a threat to China and that he hopes to have a frank dialogue with his counterpart in Beijing. The visits come just weeks before Obama hosts a meeting of all 10 Asean leaders in California next month, the first of its kind in the U.S.
Laos has close political and economic ties with giant neighbour China, prompting the Obama administration to worry that Vientiane might behave like Cambodia did when it held the ASEAN chair in 2012. “The leader of the opposition party is out of the country, so Secretary Kerry will meet with not only the government but also the opposition”, said the State Department official. The U.S. has stepped up efforts to help clear Laos of those bombs and Kerry is expected to commit to expanding and upgrading such programs with details to be announced when Obama visits later in 2016, the U.S. official said. The official said the USA believed that Laos would do a better job in balancing ASEAN interests with China.
Kerry was scheduled to meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Jan 26, as well as civil society representatives and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, according to local media.
In Beijing Kerry plans “in depth” discussions on the South China Sea, a cause of mounting tension between China and ASEAN countries and the United States due to China’s building of artificial islands suitable for use as military bases, the official said.
“The only thing I’m going to say about China is, I look forward to having solid conversations, serious conversations about one of the most serious issues on the planet today, which is a clearly reckless and risky evolving security threat in the hands of somebody who is questionable in terms of judgment, and has proven thus to China”, he said, referring to Kim Jong Un, the quixotic supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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“North Korea is still engaged in illicit and proliferation activities”, he said.
