China urges all parties not to heighten tension on Korean peninsula

[webfact]

China urges all parties not to heighten tension on Korean peninsula

 

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a joint news conference with his Philippine counterpart Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (not pictured) in Taguig, Metro Manila Philippines July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged all parties on Thursday not to heighten tensions on the Korean peninsula and said China had already clearly condemned North Korea's latest missile test.

 

"Regarding North Korea's recent missile launch, once again in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, China has already clearly expressed our opposition," Wang told a news conference in Beijing.

 

"At the same time, we also call on all parties not to take any actions that will lead to an escalation in tensions," Wang said ahead of regional meetings in Manila this week.

 

On Saturday, Pyongyang said it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that proved its ability to strike the United States.

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will also attend the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, is expected to press China and other regional nations to take tougher action against North Korea.

 

On Tuesday, Tillerson reiterated that Washington had sought to persuade North Korea to give up its missile and nuclear weapons programmes through peaceful pressure, and that it did not seek a collapse of Kim Jong Un's regime.

 

Asked about those comments, Wang said China attached importance to Tillerson's remarks about the Korean peninsula and hoped the United States could implement them successfully.

 

Wang said he hoped all sides could move forward together through dialogue to find a solution quickly that addresses each other's security concerns.

 

China has signed up for increasingly tough United Nations sanctions against North Korea, but has also pushed for a resumption of dialogue and de-escalation by both Pyongyang and Washington.

 

Tillerson's remarks showed "courage", said the state-run Global Times newspaper, usually known for its nationalistic bent.

 

"Many Americans would think Tillerson is showing weakness, but we see his statement as the most courageous expression from Washington regarding the Korean peninsula issue," it said in an editorial on Thursday.

 

"While (Washington) exerts pressure on North Korea, it should leave some alternatives for Pyongyang and make it believe that abandoning its nuclear and missile programmes will do more good than insisting on this path."

 

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Philip Wen; Editing by Paul Tait and Clarence Fernandez)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-03

[George Bowman]

Just curious. Why is China so confident that a missile from NK will not go sideways and land in their backyard?

[over it]

For the good of everyone, behead little Kimmie!

[craigt3365]

China has been involved with this since 1993 and unable or unwilling to do anything.  They hold the power, but are unable/unwilling to help.

[Dave67]

China doesn't want the US rocking up on their Southern border with NK 

[craigt3365]

14 minutes ago, Dave67 said:

China doesn't want the US rocking up on their Southern border with NK 

A bit too late for that! How many thousands have been there for decades?  LOL

[Dave67]

8 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

A bit too late for that! How many thousands have been there for decades?  LOL

NK southern border has thousands of US soldiers. What border with China presently has thousands of US soldiers there? Or have you misread my post?

Edited August 3, 2017 by Dave67

[vandv]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

China has been involved with this since 1993 and unable or unwilling to do anything.  They hold the power, but are unable/unwilling to help.

 

why would they help, it's in their interest to have a belligerent pawn to stop any US encroachment

[attrayant]

China has already dusted its hand of the issue, saying they're not responsible and no one should be looking at them for solutions.  

 

Quote

China has rejected Donald Trump’s repeated calls for it to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program, saying the “China responsibility theory” must stop.

 

What are you waiting for, Donald?  Handle the problem like you said you would.

[craigt3365]

33 minutes ago, vandv said:

 

why would they help, it's in their interest to have a belligerent pawn to stop any US encroachment

The US has no interest in encroachment there.  Just interested in getting rid of nuclear weapons and getting NK to stop their international criminal activities and human rights abuses. 

[Morch]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

The US has no interest in encroachment there.  Just interested in getting rid of nuclear weapons and getting NK to stop their international criminal activities and human rights abuses. 

 

Would be interesting to see how this point of view holds if the conflict is ever resolved peacefully. Somehow doubt the US will be keen on removing all of its assets from SK. But still a ways to go until this come up.

[phantomfiddler]

China is loving this ! Worst case scenario, they move in and take it over after it has been neutralized by the west.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.  

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

China is loving this ! Worst case scenario, they move in and take it over after it has been neutralized by the west.

The very LAST thing China wants ... 25million starving N. Koreans.   "Loving this"??   That's got to be one of the least aware takes on something I've ever seen on TVF.

[craigt3365]

11 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Would be interesting to see how this point of view holds if the conflict is ever resolved peacefully. Somehow doubt the US will be keen on removing all of its assets from SK. But still a ways to go until this come up.

It'd be great to see NK and SK reunited like happened in Germany.  That turned out very well.  And hopefully, a lot of US troops would leave.

[craigt3365]

Though nuclear weapons is a key reason for the current tensions, the global community has also been sanctioning Korea for various other issues.  International crimes, human rights abuses, etc.

 

Very interesting article from an insider.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/03/politics/north-korea-defector-ri-jong-ho/index.html

Quote

"It was not just high level officers, officials, but their families, their children (and) their followers," Ri told CNN in his first interview to a major US broadcast network. "It was not just once or twice a year -- it was ongoing throughout the year, thousands of people being executed or purged."

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

It'd be great to see NK and SK reunited like happened in Germany.  That turned out very well.  And hopefully, a lot of US troops would leave.

 

Wasn't specifically thinking about reunification, and of course, US troops did not actually leave Germany. One could point out that this was decided upon cooperatively, but it's not as if the US was anxious to leave.

[craigt3365]

25 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

Wasn't specifically thinking about reunification, and of course, US troops did not actually leave Germany. One could point out that this was decided upon cooperatively, but it's not as if the US was anxious to leave.

Agreed.  At least we can hope the number of troops drops considerably.  It also depends on China.  They've been a bit aggressive lately also! LOL

[craigt3365]

Not a close call, but not a safe play either.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/03/asia/north-korea-air-france/index.html

Quote

Air France expands no-fly zone around North Korea after missile scare