SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – America’s top diplomat pressured China on Thursday to use his “tremendous influence” to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it would ignore the US offers to resume negotiations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the end of security negotiations in Seoul, which included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korea’s Foreign and Defense Ministers. His first meeting called “two plus two” in five years came when President Joe Biden pushed to restore America’s alliances in Asia in the face of the challenges of China and North Korea.
“Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest, in helping to seek the denuclearization of (North Korea) because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, ”said Blinken at a news conference.
He said Beijing has a key role in persuading North Korea to denuclearize because most of the North’s foreign trade passes through China. Blinken emphasized that China is required by UN Security Council resolutions to fully enforce sanctions imposed on North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
China, the last major ally and biggest benefactor of aid from the North, has long been suspected of avoiding the full implementation of sanctions on the North. Some observers say China believes that a unified, pro-US Korea would undermine its strategic interests and fears that a humanitarian disaster in North Korea could push swarms of refugees across countries’ borders.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said Beijing “will continue to play a constructive role” in working towards a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula. Zhao reiterated on Thursday that China advocates a “dual approach” to the issue, whereby the United States would offer North Korea security guarantees in exchange for Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons programs.
“All parties involved must move in the same direction, work together to manage differences, actively promote dialogue and contacts and maintain regional peace and stability,” Zhao told reporters at a daily news conference on Thursday.
On Thursday, Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s first deputy foreign minister, confirmed Blinken’s previous announcement that Washington had contacted Pyongyang through various channels since mid-February, but received no response.
Choe called the US reach a “delaying trick” and said that North Korea would discard offers of negotiations unless Washington withdraws its hostility. “What has been heard from the US since the new regime emerged is just a whimsical ‘North Korea threat’ theory and baseless rhetoric about ‘complete denuclearization,'” she said.
Asked about Choe’s statement, Blinken said he is more interested in the ideas of US partners while doing a regional tour. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Thursday’s talks deal with North Korea’s declaration and its intentions. He said South Korea expects a quick resumption of US-North Korea negotiations.
US-led diplomacy with a focus on North Korea’s nuclear weapons remains paralyzed because of disputes over US-led sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should reach an agreement that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities in exchange for relaxing sanctions to prevent its arsenal from growing.
Earlier this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States to “refrain from causing a bad smell”, while criticizing the US-South Korea exercises that his government sees as an invasion essay.
Some experts say that North Korea may increase animosities further with missile tests to increase its negotiating capacity. North Korea’s dying economy is suffering because of the pandemic-related border closure, which significantly reduced its foreign trade and a series of natural disasters last summer.
After Thursday’s talks, Blinken, Austin and their South Korean colleagues said in a joint statement that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile issues are “a priority for the alliance” and reaffirmed a shared commitment to address these questions.
Austin said the United States is fully committed to defending South Korea, using “the full range of U.S. capabilities, including our expanded deterrence”. Blinken criticized North Korea’s human rights record for the second consecutive day, saying that people in North Korea “continue to suffer widespread and systematic abuse at the hands of a repressive government”.
Later on Thursday, Blinken and Austin met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who said Seoul will continue close cooperation with Washington to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Blinken and Austin are on their first trip abroad for office-level employees since Biden took office. They visited Japan before coming to Seoul.
South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that during Thursday’s talks, the United States emphasized the importance of US-led trilateral security cooperation involving Seoul and Tokyo many times. He said that South Korea, in principle, agrees with the US view. The ties between Seoul and Tokyo have suffered major setbacks in recent years due to issues arising from the colonization of the Korean Peninsula by Japan in 1910-45.
Blinken said Thursday’s talks discussed China’s role, and “we are aware of Beijing’s consistent failure to deliver on its commitments”.
“And we talked about how Beijing’s aggressive and authoritarian behavior is challenging the stability and prosperity of security in the Pacific region,” he said. “Beijing’s actions make the establishment of a common approach among our allies even more important at a time when we are witnessing a setback in democracy and human rights worldwide, including in Burma.”
Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on the way back to Washington, while Austin will travel to New Delhi for talks with Indian officials.
China’s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said Beijing does not expect the Alaskan talks to resolve all issues between China and the United States and “we do not have high hopes”. Cu also added that he hopes that the meeting will be “a start and that both sides can start a process of dialogue that is sincere, constructive and realistic”.