CHINA-NORTH KOREA

An unusually candid article in the state-run Global Times on March 3, 2017, reported the meeting on March 1, between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and  visiting North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song and said both expressed the hope for improved Beijing-Pyongyang ties and that Ri Kil Song had claimed that North Korea is willing to have in-depth talks with China on the situation of the Korean Peninsula.It noted that prior to the North Korean Foreign Minister's visit the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) had published a commentary which harshly criticized China without directly mentioning it by name. It described the situation on the Peninsula as perhaps the most dangerous since the end of the Korean War (1950-53). It said Chinese society is divided on how to encourage Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions, but it is highly consistent on the ultimate goal of the peninsula's denuclearization and that following the murder of Kim Jong-nam public anger over Seoul's decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system has been transferred to strong dissatisfaction against the North. Voices that Beijing should be tougher on, and even break its ties with Pyongyang, are frequently heard online.
 
It added that "Beijing has sent a clear signal of opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear programs and is urging the latter to return to negotiations. This is the basis of China's North Korea policy and Pyongyang must face it squarely. Meanwhile, unlike Washington and Seoul, Beijing will not threaten Pyongyang's political security". It said "China's current North Korea policy is the most beneficial", but warned that "China must prioritize its national interests when devising its Pyongyang policy. Beijing cannot accept Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, but it is clear that the nuclear crisis was triggered by Washington's and Seoul's radical policies on the North. China should not be pushed to the front to address Northeast Asia's most troublesome problem on behalf of the US and South Korea".
 






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