US secretary of state said Beijing must put “teeth” into denuclearisation policy ahead of his first official visit.
US Secretary of State has begun meetings with top officials in Beijing to urge them to use their considerable influence over North Korea to calm rising tensions in the region.
Kerry’s first official visit to China as the top US diplomat on Saturday kicked off with a meeting with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“Obviously there are enormously challenging issues in front of us, and I look forward to having that conversation with you today,” Kerry told Wang. Wang agreed the visit came at a “critical moment”.
China has backed North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War and could wield tremendous leverage over the isolated communist regime thanks to the vital aid it provides, including almost all of its neighbour’s energy imports.
In addition to Wang, Kerry is also expected to hold talks with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and State Councillor Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat who outranks Wang.
‘Amicable resolution’
Ahead of Saturday’s visit, Kerry called on China to take a more active stance toward North Korea, which in recent weeks has threatened nuclear war against the US.
As North Korea’s main trading partner, financial backer and diplomatic ally, Kerry said China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished, isolated state, Kerry said in the South Korean capital Seoul late on Friday.
“There is no group of leaders on the face of the planet who have more capacity to make a difference in this than the Chinese, and everybody knows it, including, I believe, them,” Kerry told US executives.
“They want to see us try to reach an amicable resolution to this,” he said.
“But you have to begin with a reality, and the reality is that if your policy is denuclearisation – and it is theirs as it is ours as it is everybody’s except the North’s at this moment – if that’s your policy, you’ve got to put some teeth into it,” he said.
His visit to Asia, which will include a stop in Tokyo on Sunday, takes place against after weeks of North Korean threats of an impending war since the imposition of new UN sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/04/201341343052867973.html
