Prospects of NK- US peace ‘ dim’
China’s suggestion on nuke issue ‘ shows responsibility’
China’s call for a halt to the US- South Korean joint drill if North Korea agrees to stop missile and nuclear tests shows the country’s responsible attitude toward regional peace, said experts, warning that the hope of a peaceful solution is dim as the US has already rejected the idea.
As the first step, North Korea may suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large- scale US- South Korea military exercises, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress on Wednesday.
The US, however, rejected China’s proposal on Wednesday, the Associated Press ( AP) reported. “At this point we don’t see it as a viable deal,” US State Department act- ing spokesman Mark Toner said.
Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross, said US activities to defend South Korea “cannot be equated to North Korea’s repeated violations of its obligations and agreements.”
Since the situation is getting increasingly intense, the US’ rejection is irresponsible and lacks serious consideration, Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said after an emergency UN Security Council meeting on North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches that the US must see “some sort of positive action” by Pyongyang before discussing ways to reduce tensions on the Peninsula, AP reported.
“Its refusal to give China any promise to reduce tensions will make it more difficult for China to convince North Korea to stop tests,” Shi Yinhong, a professor at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.
The Chinese foreign minister was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying that the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is mainly a matter between North Korea and the US, but China, as a next- door neighbor with a lips- and- teeth relationship with the Peninsula, is indispensable to the resolution of the issue.
A good way for China to ease tensions is to get North Korea’s compromise first, and then negotiate with the US, Lü said. “Considering that North Korea sent a vice foreign minister to visit Beijing after China imposed sanctions on the coal imported from North Korea, it is possible for China to persuade North Korea to make a rational decision. But it takes time.”