Korea will cooperate with US to persuade China
By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea, in close cooperation with the United States, will make vigorous efforts to persuade China to punish North Korea for its nuclear test, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.
The reaction came a day after the U.S.-China foreign ministers’ meeting ended without any progress over how to sanction the Kim Jong-un regime.
While the international community, led-by the U.S., is seeking strong actions against the North to curb its nuclear ambitions, China says such measures could provoke new tensions in the region.
“Based on close cooperation with the U.S., we will try to ensure that China will join the United Nations (U.N) sanctions on the North,” said presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk.
“We hope that China and Russia will do their part as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.”
The two countries also belong to the long-stalled six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program in return for political concessions and economic aid. The multinational forum that last took place in 2008 also includes the U.S., Japan and the two Koreas.
Although U.S. State Secretary John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met in Beijing on Wednesday and agreed on the need for a fresh U.N. resolution against the North, China expressed disapproval of the U.S.-led drive to slap the toughest-yet sanctions on the repressive state for its fourth nuclear test.
China is regarded as the only country to exert influence on the North thanks to its status as the North’s chief diplomatic protector and economic benefactor.
China is apparently against going too far out of oncern that strong sanctions could destabilize the country, which in turn could hurt Beijing’s national interests.
President Park Geun-hye has worked on improving ties with China to take advantage of its leverage over the North and its nuclear ambitions.
However, despite the South Korean government’s repeated calls, China has yet to respond, which has led Seoul to consider deploying the U.S. terminal high-altitude area defense system on Korean soil to press Beijing’s active role in the international punitive action.