SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – America’s top diplomat on Thursday urged China to use its “tremendous influence” to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it was accepting US offers to resume negotiations will ignore.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken spoke at the end of high-security talks in Seoul, including Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and South Korean Foreign and Defense Ministers. The so-called “two plus two” meeting, the first of its kind in five years, came when President Joe Biden sought to restore America’s alliances in Asia in the face of growing challenges from China and North Korea.
‘Beijing has an interest, a clear self-interest in helping to pursue deprivation of (North Korea), because it is a source of instability. This is a source of danger and obviously a threat to us and our partners, ‘Blinken said at a news conference.
He said Beijing had a “critical role” in persuading North Korea to unleash, as most of the North’s foreign trade passes through China. Blinken stressed that according to UN resolutions, China is obliged to fully impose sanctions on North Korea’s banned nuclear and missile tests.
Earlier on Thursday, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui confirmed Blinken’s previous announcement that Washington had reached out to Pyongyang through various channels from mid-February, but it received no response.
Choe called the US outreach a “time-consuming trick” and said North Korea would continue to throw away similar offers for talks unless Washington withdrew its hostility. “What has been heard from the US since the emergence of the new regime is only an insane theory of ‘threat from North Korea’ and baseless rhetoric about ‘complete denial’,” she said.
Choe suggested that Washington’s report to show additional sanctions and staggering pressure on North Korea, coupled with military exercises between the US and South Korea this month, is proof of US hostility.
Asked about Choe’s statement, Blinken said he was aware of it, but said he was more interested in the comments and thoughts of US allies and partners while undertaking a regional tour.
US-led diplomacy focusing on North Korea’s nuclear weapons has been silent for about two years over disputes over US – led sanctions. Experts are debating whether the United States and its allies should decide on an agreement that would freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities in exchange for easing sanctions to prevent the arsenal from growing.
Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister warned the United States to refrain from causing a stink while criticizing the US and South Korean exercises that her government views as an invasion exercise.
Some experts believe that North Korea, which is eager to win sanctions relief, could further increase hostile missile tests to increase its leverage in any negotiations with the United States. North Korea’s dying economy is under additional pressure due to the pandemic – related border closure that caused its foreign trade and the spate of natural disasters to shrink significantly last summer.
Following Thursday’s talks, Blinken, Austin and their South Korean counterparts said in a joint statement that North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile issues “are a priority for the alliance” and confirmed that they have a shared commitment to to address the issues. Both Bliken and Austin said the allies were still committed to the deprivation of North Korea.
Austin said the United States was fully committed to defending South Korea by using “the full range of US capabilities, including our extensive deterrent.” He said the allies still maintained “a robust combined defensive stance”.
Blinken broke North Korea’s human rights record for a second consecutive day, saying that people in North Korea “continue to experience widespread and systematic abuse under government repression.”
Blinken and Austin are on the first overseas trip by cabinet officials since Biden took office in January. They visited Japan before coming to Seoul.
Blinken said Thursday’s talks discussed the role of China, and “we were clearly looking at the fact that Beijing is not fulfilling its obligations.”
“And we talked about how Beijing’s aggressive and authoritarian behavior is challenging the stability and security prosperity of the Pacific region,” he said. “Beijing’s actions make the merging of a general approach among our allies all the more important at a time when we are seeing a setback of democracy and human rights around the world, including in Burma.”
Blinken will meet senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska, on his 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 did not expect the Alaska talks to resolve all issues between China and the US and “we do not hope too much.” Cu continued, adding that he hoped the meeting would be a start and that the two parties could embark on a dialogue process that was frank, constructive and realistic. ‘