China says war must not be allowed on Korean peninsula

[webfact]

China says war must not be allowed on Korean peninsula

By Ben Blanchard

 

South Korean President Moon Jae-In and Chinese President Xi Jinping listen to the South Korean anthem during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Nicolas Asfouri/Pool

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - The crisis over North Korea's weapons programs must be resolved through talks, not war, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the danger of "sleepwalking" into conflict.

 

Xi made his comments to visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered on Tuesday to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions.

 

But the White House said on Wednesday that no negotiations could be held until North Korea improved its behaviour.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tillerson's offer of direct contacts with North Korea was "a very good signal" while warning that any U.S. strike on the country would have catastrophic consequences.

 

Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed North Korea during a phone call, the White House and Kremlin said in separate statements. The two leaders talked about "working together to resolve the very dangerous situation," the White House said on Thursday.

 

Tillerson is to attend a U.N. Security Council ministerial meeting on North Korea in New York on Friday at which he plans to urge countries to maintain a U.S.-led campaign to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its weapons programs through sanctions.

 

North Korea tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 29, which it said could put all of the United States within range, in defiance of international pressure and U.N. sanctions.

 

The United States has said all options were on the table in dealing with North Korea, including military action.

 

Meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi told Moon the goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula must be stuck to, and war and chaos cannot be allowed, Chinese state media said.

 

"The peninsula issue must, in the end, be resolved via dialogue and consultation," Xi was cited as saying.

 

China and South Korea have an important shared interest in maintaining peace, and China was willing to work with South Korea to promote talks and support North and South to improve relations, Xi said.

 

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Xi and Moon agreed war on the peninsula would not be tolerated and they would cooperate in applying sanctions and pressure on North Korea.

 

The apparently warm tone of their talks followed nearly a year of tense relations between the two countries.

 

THAAD ISSUE

 

China has been furious about the deployment of the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, saying its powerful radar can see far into China.

 

China and South Korea agreed in October to normalise exchanges and move past the dispute, which froze trade and business exchanges.

 

Xi reiterated China's position on THAAD and said he hoped South Korea would continue to "appropriately handle" the issue.

 

Guterres, speaking to reporters in Tokyo after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said Security Council resolutions on North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes must be fully implemented by Pyongyang and other countries.

 

He said he expected Friday's Security Council meeting would deliver a strong expression of unity and the need for diplomacy to resolve the issue.

 

"The worst possible thing that could happen is for us all to sleepwalk into a war," he said.

 

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said after meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in London on Thursday that military options in North Korea did not look attractive and the best way forward was to intensify economic pressure.

 

Both China and Russia have welcomed Tillerson's apparent overture.

 

Putin said a U.S. strike on North Korea would have catastrophic consequences and that he hoped to work with Washington eventually to resolve the crisis.

 

Putin told a news conference that Russia did not accept North Korea's nuclear status, but some U.S. actions had provoked North Korea.

"We believe the two sides should now stop aggravating the situation," he said.

 

North Korea justifies its weapons programmes as necessary defence against U.S. plans to invade. The United States, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean war, denies any such intention.

 

North Korea's state news agency KCNA said Trump was taking a big step towards nuclear war in seeking a naval blockade and North Korea would take "merciless self-defence" measures if the United States tried to impose one.

 

North Korea would regard a naval blockade as "an act of war" and a "wanton violation" of its sovereignty and dignity, the agency cited a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying, while reiterating that North Korea was a responsible nuclear power that would fulfil its non proliferation commitments.

 

It was not immediately clear if the latter remark was a response to Tillerson's statement this week that Washington could not accept Pyongyang as a nuclear power as it was a proliferation risk.

 

Washington has not publicly called for a blockade of North Korea, but has sought tougher U.N. steps, including non-consensual inspections of shipping to North Korea.

 

Stepped-up U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed in September after North Korea's sixth nuclear test called on states to inspect vessels on the high seas, with the consent of the flag state, if they had reasonable grounds to believe the ships were carrying prohibited cargo.

 

A tougher U.S.-drafted resolution was watered down to win the support of Russia and China.

 

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in TOKYO,; Denis Pinchuk in MOSCOW, Christine Kim in SEOUL, David Brunnstrom and Eric Beech in WASHINGTON and Michelle Nichols at the UNITED NATIONS; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Bill Trott and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-15

[craigt3365]

The dictator Xi Jinping Trying to protect himself?

[Coconutman]

He needs to put a leash on nk if anything happens chinas economy will tank. 

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, Coconutman said:

He needs to put a leash on nk if anything happens chinas economy will tank. 

China's economy shouldn't be hurt too much.  If war breaks out, the global economy will tank for a bit anyway.

 

He's a dictator and worried about democracy showing up on his front door. LOL

[thaibeachlovers]

Interesting that THAAD gets brought into it.

Xi can say whatever he likes but talk never stopped a war, and what will he do if one starts- go to war against the US?

[metisdead]

An off topic trolling post has been removed. 

[dunroaming]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

BEIJING (Reuters) - The crisis over North Korea's weapons programs must be resolved through talks, not war, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the danger of "sleepwalking" into conflict.

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

But the White House said on Wednesday that no negotiations could be held until North Korea improved its behaviour.

Not hard to see who are the grown-ups here.  

[TKDfella]

Since no one has more influence than China over NK (and that is probably dwindling too) then why not go in there and really dent NK ego. I'm sure Europe would be more than willing to help with US position in return. But maybe I'm living on 'cloud 9' eh? Just isn't going to happen.

[dunroaming]

4 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

Since no one has more influence than China over NK (and that is probably dwindling too) then why not go in there and really dent NK ego. I'm sure Europe would be more than willing to help with US position in return. But maybe I'm living on 'cloud 9' eh? Just isn't going to happen.

Cloud 9 is a good place to live   North Korea is extremely tricky and the only real influence can come from China. It isn't so much that the USA cannot use diplomatic means to ease the tensions it is the stupid man-child in charge.

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

Cloud 9 is a good place to live   North Korea is extremely tricky and the only real influence can come from China. It isn't so much that the USA cannot use diplomatic means to ease the tensions it is the stupid man-child in charge.

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets .

    It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing 

[dunroaming]

5 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets .

    It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing 

Point taken.

[craigt3365]

10 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets .

    It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing 

100% agreed.  Except the Trump part.  He seems to be a big part of the problem.

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

100% agreed.  Except the Trump part.  He seems to be a big part of the problem.

How has he caused any problems ?

Although this is a thread about China and NK and the USA are using diplomacy to stop NK building nukes .

   What is the "problem" that Trump is causing ?

[dunroaming]

It appears that North Korea has now developed nuclear capabilities which is a worry.  However you can't turn back the clock and if they stopped development today then they would still have them.  So is that alone enough motivation to declare war?  Kim claims that they will never use their nuclear weapons unless in defence.  That is in line with the rest of worlds nuclear capable countries.

 

I know KJU is a really unstable character and his regime is despicable but you could argue he is not the only one.  Kim is showboating and obviously enjoys the fray but military action from others (and then retaliation by Kim) would kill many innocent people and make the world even more unstable than it is today.

[dunroaming]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

What is the "problem" that Trump is causing ?

With respect the Trump issue does keep raising it's head above the parapet. Without wanting to add to it I would offer an answer to your question.  It's the language Trump uses that escalates the tension because Kim (who is equally unbalanced) will then counter with the same threatening posture.  Both act like spoilt children and there has to be a grown-up in the room to stop the tantrums.

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, sanemax said:

How has he caused any problems ?

Although this is a thread about China and NK and the USA are using diplomacy to stop NK building nukes .

   What is the "problem" that Trump is causing ?

There are no easy answers here.  The world has messed around long enough and now we are in a tight situation.  Either act, with dire consequences.  Or, kick the can down the road and keep your fingers crossed.  If the latter, then Trump's been a bit too aggressive with his speeches.  Or Tweets. LOL

 

IMHO.

[Catoni]

Quote:  "The crisis over North Korea's weapons programs must be resolved through talks, not war, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the danger of "sleepwalking" into conflict."

 

   They've been talking for decades.  All that has accomplished is going from a communist North Korea prison country dictatorship without nuclear weapons and long range missiles.... to a communist North Korea prison country dictatorship with nukes and longer and longer range missiles.

 

    So much for all that talk....     Sure... let's talk some more....and more... and more...   

[Catoni]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

There are no easy answers here.  The world has messed around long enough and now we are in a tight situation.  Either act, with dire consequences.  Or, kick the can down the road and keep your fingers crossed.  If the latter, then Trump's been a bit too aggressive with his speeches.  Or Tweets. LOL

 

IMHO.

        "...Trump's been a bit too aggressive with his speeches."    Yes... I agree, especially when Kim Jong-un has been so willing to talk and listen,  never started the aggressive statements, and has never threatened his neighbours or the U.S.        Oh.... wait...       555555  

[craigt3365]

15 minutes ago, Catoni said:

        "...Trump's been a bit too aggressive with his speeches."    Yes... I agree, especially when Kim Jong-un has been so willing to talk and listen,  never started the aggressive statements, and has never threatened his neighbours or the U.S.        Oh.... wait...       555555  

Please don't post inaccurate information. North Korea has been threatening the U.S. and it's neighbors for a very long time. 

 

And they've never listened. Why? They are dictators and are afraid of being overthrown. 

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets .

    It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing 

It would be nice if Trump didn't undercut his Secretary of State.

[ilostmypassword]

6 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

The dictator Xi Jinping Trying to protect himself?

Yes, just himself and not the millions of Chinese near North Korea.

[Catoni]

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets .

    It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing 

       "It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing"

   Totally agree. We get the Trump bashing from the usual collection of leftists/socialists in this group, suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome that are upset that Bernie or Hillary didn't win. Same type of people that hated and bashed Ronald Reagan. 

     North Korea simply does what it wants, talking or no talking.  It's a communist prison hermit kingdom country.... with Kim Jung-un at the top. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Catoni
correction

[nontabury]

4 hours ago, dunroaming said:

Cloud 9 is a good place to live   North Korea is extremely tricky and the only real influence can come from China. It isn't so much that the USA cannot use diplomatic means to ease the tensions it is the stupid man-child in charge.

If Clinton, Bush and Obama had dealt with this at the time,there would now not be the urgency. Unfortunately Trump has inherited a poisoned chalice.

 

[Catoni]

2 minutes ago, nontabury said:

If Clinton, Bush and Obama had dealt with this at the time,there would now not be the urgency. Unfortunately Trump has inherited a poisoned chalice.

 

       Very, very true.......Clinton, Bush and Obama kept kicking the can down the road....and waited until North Korea and Kim Jong-un got his nukes and missiles....  and then the usual leftists/socialist morons blame Donald Trump.   

    So typical.....  so pathetic...  ! ! 

[sanemax]

41 minutes ago, Catoni said:

       "It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing"

   Totally agree. We get the Trump bashing from the usual collection of leftists/socialists in this group, suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome that are upset that Bernie or Hillary didn't win. Same type of people that hated and bashed Ronald Reagan. 

     North Korea simply does what it wants, talking or no talking.  It's a communist prison hermit kingdom country.... with Kim Jung-un at the top. 

And its not intelligent criticism of Trump, its whatever he does, critisiee him and say he should have done something else .

In this instance, Trump has done well by galvanism the World and isolating N.K

Trump has got Russia on board and China seems to have softened its support of N.K. , even this statement could be saying to NK, *If war breaks out, you are on your own, we wont get involved*

   A few months ago people were worried about WW3 breaking out, now Trump has spoken to Russia and China, that now looks extremely unlikely .

Edited December 15, 2017 by sanemax
add a word

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

Please don't post inaccurate information. North Korea has been threatening the U.S. and it's neighbors for a very long time. 

 

And they've never listened. Why? They are dictators and are afraid of being overthrown. 

I do think that he was being sarcastic

[boomerangutang]

7 hours ago, Coconutman said:

He needs to put a leash on nk if anything happens chinas economy will tank. 

                         As you probably know, a war in Korea would affect much more than the respective economies.  China's economy will muddle along fine, even if there was a war.  I think the biggest impact on China (assuming China doesn't jump into the fray militarily, like it did 65 years ago), is trying to deal with the ensuing refugee problems, both within China, and within NK.

 

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

The USA is indeed using diplomacy , although diplomacy hasnt worked in stopping NK trying to build nukes and firing rockets. It would be nice to have a discussion without the usual Trump bashing. 

                         The US has been using diplomacy, for decades, and it's worked ok.  The only thing it couldn't stop is NK's build-up of weaponry and their internal starvation/incarceration and other in-house issues. 

 

                         We are bashing Trump because he deserves it. It's not only us reasonable-thinking people.  All US foreign policy experts, without any exceptions, are against Trump's bull-in-a-China-shop approach.  I could say 'all.... except those in the WH', but there are no foreign policy experts in the WH.   

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, boomerangutang said:

                        

                         The US has been using diplomacy, for decades, and it's worked ok.  The only thing it couldn't stop is NK's build-up of weaponry and their internal starvation/incarceration and other in-house issues. 

                         

The fact that NK is trying to build nuclear weapons and is threatening to send them to the USA , shows that diplomacy hasnt worked , all it has done is to prolong the issue .

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

          

                        We are bashing Trump because he deserves it. It's not only us reasonable-thinking people.  All US foreign policy experts, without any exceptions, are against Trump's bull-in-a-China-shop approach.  I could say 'all.... except those in the WH', but there are no foreign policy experts in the WH.   

I do disagree , Anti Trump people will bash Trump at every available opportunity , and if theres no available opportunity to bash hi, they will think of one .

    Trump could just ignore the NK threats and hope that they go away .

No doubt the anti-Trump brigade would blame Trump, if NK wiped out half the USA , blame him for doing nothing to stop NK getting nukes

[Morch]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Please don't post inaccurate information. North Korea has been threatening the U.S. and it's neighbors for a very long time. 

 

And they've never listened. Why? They are dictators and are afraid of being overthrown. 

 

A war represents economic and political uncertainty. I think that PRC leadership places a high value on maintaining stability and control above many other considerations. Doubt he worries about democracy per se, but more about the emergence of conditions which might foster popular unrest.