China has both the capacity and responsibility to help bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, a state department spokesperson reiterated Wednesday, echoing recent remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The top U.S. diplomat said he had raised the issue while meeting with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing earlier this week.
“This is something that the secretary raised directly on his travels,” state department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said when asked if the recent thaw between Washington and Beijing relations may help address the threat posed by Pyongyang.
“He (Blinken) made clear that … the PRC writ large has the capability and responsibility to use its influence with the DPRK to encourage Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table and to cease its provocative acts,” he added, referring to China and North Korea by their formal names, the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, respectively.
Blinken traveled to Beijing on a two-day visit this week, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top government officials there.
Wrapping up his visit on Monday, he said “all members of the international community have an interest in encourage the DPRK to act responsibly,” adding he and his Chinese counterparts had discussions about “North Korea’s increasingly reckless actions and rhetoric.”
North Korea launched a space launch vehicle (SLV) carrying what it claimed to be its first military reconnaissance satellite in a botched attempt on May 31.
The U.S. and its key allies, including South Korea, have strongly condemned the North’s failed space launch, noting SLVs use the same technology as ballistic missiles that North Korea is prohibited from developing or using under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang has dismissed the allies’ condemnation and vowed to continue launching space rockets until it succeeds, while calling Blinken’s trip to China a “disgraceful trip” to beg for improved relations with Beijing.
Source: Yonhap News Agency