The US as well as China say a brand new United Nations resolution against North Korea is desired, following Pyongyang’s claim before this month that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.
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“China is dealing with what is a loose cannon now but might, by attempting to engage in tougher love toward Pyongyang, end up with a client state that is completely unrestrained”, said Ted Galen Carpenter, a foreign policy specialist at the Cato Institute. It has since conducted three further tests, the most recent on January 6.
Before Wednesday’s meeting, the official Xinhua news agency issued a commentary blaming the US’s “uncompromising hostility” and “Cold War mentality” for the situation on the Korean peninsula.
He noted that Iran, which does not have nuclear weapons, has been the target of more sanctions than North Korea has been, despite its defiance of global condemnation of its nuclear activities.
Wrapping up an eight-day, around-the-world diplomatic mission in Beijing, Kerry hailed U.S.-China cooperation on several issues, including the Iran nuclear deal and climate change, but said consensus on North Korea and the South China Sea remained a work in progress.
China has insisted it’s already making great efforts to achieve denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula and Wang has rejected any “groundless speculation” on its North Korea stance, following remarks from U.S. officials that China could do more.
(Korean_ ) “There is a chance the worldwide community could seek ways to ratchet up the sanctions against North Korea to a much higher level than they would for just the nuclear test. China could also strengthen its position”.
Observers say that China refrains from really pressing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is officially known, on the nuclear issue because it fears an eventual collapse of Kim Jong Un’s regime. He said China has a “special role” to play, because it serves as the country’s lifeline, providing food and fuel and serving as a conduit for most of North Korea’s trade and financial transactions.
Secretary Kerry, who started a three-nation Asia swing in Laos and Cambodia, vowed to raise the pressure on North Korea. But these new sanctions “must not provoke new tensions”, he said, emphasising that China’s preference is the reconvening of talks on North Korea.
Wang welcomed the fact that Kerry’s trip had taken in a number of Asian countries, saying visiting them could help him understand the continent.
The secretary was referring to the deployment of a missile-defense system to South Korea that has been under discussion for some time but that the South, a USA ally, has resisted because of China’s opposition.
The South’s President Park Geun-hye put forward the proposal for five-party talks last week, excluding the North, as around seven years have passed since six-party denuclearization dialogue took place involving representatives from Pyongyang, Seoul, Washington, Beijing, Moscow and Tokyo.
China has tried to shift the blame to the U.S. “We can not accept the allegation that China’s words are not being matched by action”.
Foreigners detained in North Korea are regularly required to provide taped or written confessions, which they generally retract after their release.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry has sharply criticised North Korea for carrying out a fourth nuclear test, despite global warnings.
