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U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry said last week the United States and China were
discussing imposing further sanctions on North Korea, which he
said was "not even close" to taking necessary steps to end its
nuclear program.
China is North Korea's most important trading partner and only
major ally, though the North's nuclear and missile tests over
recent years have strained their ties.
"The Chinese agree that pressure has to be an important part of
our approach on North Korea," Sung Kim, the U.S. special
representative for North Korea policy, told a media briefing in
Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the
issue of the Korean peninsula was "the common responsibility of
all parties concerned".
"The North Korean nuclear issue is very complex and requires
dialogue and consultation to resolve the concerns of all
parties," Hua said at a regular news briefing.
China has always called for "denuclearization" of the whole
peninsula, including any weapons held by U.S. forces in South
Korea, being careful not to point the finger of blame solely at
the North.
Kim represented the United States in talks this week with its
two important Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, on how to
step up pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear
ambitions. Those talks were in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
Kim also told the briefing in Beijing that the United States
believed China was fully implementing sanctions on North Korea
brought by the U.N. Security Council.
Kim's visit to the region follows a test of what the North said
was a submarine-launched ballistic missile this month, which if
true, could mean progress in the reclusive state's military
capabilities.
North Korea's first nuclear test was in 2006. It tested again in
2009, and more recently in 2013, drawing criticism from many
countries including China.
It has defied pressure to abandon its missile and nuclear
programs.
(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan, Additional reporting by Sui-Lee
Wee; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)
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