Blinken urges Beijing to convince North Korea to denuclearize

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) bump elbows with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul yesterday

America’s top diplomat yesterday pressed China to use its “tremendous influence” to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, hours after the North said it will ignore U.S. offers to resume negotiations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke at the end of high-profile security talks in Seoul, which included Defense Secretary 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 as President Joe Biden is pushing 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 denuclearization of (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 a news conference.
He said Beijing has “a critical role to play” to persuade North Korea to denuclearize because most of the North’s external trade goes through China. Blinken stressed that China is obligated by U.N. Security Council resolutions to fully enforce sanctions imposed over North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
China, the North’s last major ally and biggest aid benefactor, has long been suspected of avoiding completely implementing sanctions on the North. Some observers say China believes a unified, pro-U.S. Korea established on its doorstep would undermine its strategic interests, and worries that a humanitarian disaster in North Korea could push swarms of refugees flooding over the countries’ border.
Earlier, Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s first vice foreign minister, confirmed Blinken’s previous announcement that Washington had reached out to Pyongyang through several channels starting in mid-February, but it hasn’t received any response.
Choe called the U.S. outreach a “time-delaying trick” and said North Korea would keep discarding similar offers for talks unless Washington withdraws its hostility. MDT/AP