China plays peace broker, urges US, North Korea to hold talks

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on February 7 carrying what it called a satellite, drawing renewed international condemnation just weeks after it carried out a nuclear bomb test. It said the launch was for peaceful purposes, but Seoul and Washington have said it violated United Nations Security Council resolutions because it used ballistic missile technology. North Korea’s nuclear bomb test last month was also banned by a UN resolution. 

While China was angered by the launch, it has also expressed concern at plans by Washington and South Korea to deploy an advanced US missile defence system, saying it would impact upon China’s own security. “The focus of the nuclear issue on the peninsula is between the United States and North Korea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily news briefing. 

“We urge the United States and North Korea to sit down and have communications and negotiations, to explore ways to resolve each other’s reasonable concerns and finally reach the goal we all want reached.” China, while frustrated by North Korea and having signed up for numerous previous rounds of United Nations sanctions on its isolated neighbour, has said it does not believe sanctions are the way to resolve the problem and has urged a return to talks. 

Numerous efforts to restart multilateral talks have failed since negotiations collapsed following the last round in 2008. Chinese popular opinion has become increasingly fed up with North Korea, a country once a close diplomatically. 

Hong repeated that North Korea would have to “pay a price” for its behaviour.