China must use “extraordinary influence” to persuade North Korea to drop its nuclear weapons, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said hours after the regime said it would ignore demands for a “hostile” US to resume negotiations.
Blinken said China has a “critical role” to play in influencing North Korea, given its status as the poor state’s main trading partner and diplomatic ally.
Blinken and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet on Thursday with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi in Anchorage, Alaska – the first face-to-face talks between senior officials in two countries since Joe Biden took over.
“Beijing has a clear personal interest in helping to pursue denuclearization [North Korea] because it is a source of instability. It is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, “Blinken told reporters in Seoul after he and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with South Korean counterparts.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China was also required to fully implement sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, Blinken said.
Biden inherited a diplomatic stalemate from Donald Trump, who failed to make progress on denuclearization after three meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea’s first deputy foreign minister, Choe Son-hui, confirmed on Thursday that Washington had contacted the regime since mid-February, but had not responded.
Choe described the US approach as “a time-consuming trick”, adding that North Korea will continue to ignore talks, unless Washington relinquishes its “hostile” stance.
“What has been heard in the United States since the new regime emerged is just a crazy theory of the North Korean threat and unfounded rhetoric about complete denuclearization,” she said in a statement to KCNA news agency.
There could be no contact and no dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang “if the US does not return its hostile policy [North Korea]”Choe added. “Therefore, we will ignore such US attempts in the future.”
Trump’s attempts to win concessions from Kim failed after the two disagreed over easing sanctions and what North Korea would be willing to give up instead.
Experts are debating whether the US and its allies should adjust their expectations and instead settle for an agreement that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities in exchange for relaxing sanctions.
Choe said reports that the US is considering additional sanctions to increase pressure on tPyongyang, as well as ongoing joint military exercises with South Korea, are proof of his hostility.
Earlier this week, a senior US military official said he believed North Korea could prepare for in-flight testing of an improved intercontinental ballistic missile, although experts downplayed the prospect of what would be a major challenge for Biden administration.
Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, warned the United States to “refrain from causing a stench,” while criticizing the US-South Korea exercises, which Pyongyang has always seen as a rehearsal for a invasion.
Blinken, Austin and their South Korean counterparts, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and Defense Minister Suh Wook said in a joint statement that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are a “priority for the alliance. ”.
Austin said Washington remained committed to defending South Korea, using “the full range of US capabilities, including the extended deterrent measure.”