Vice President Mike Pence said that sanctions would continue against North Korea despite concerns that China is easing enforcement.
President Trump is likely to bring up the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea when he meets with President Xi Jinping of China this month, Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday.
Mr. Pence, who is in Singapore for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit meeting, was responding to reports that China might be easing sanctions against North Korea, which would be a blow to the American-led effort to economically isolate the North over its weapons programs.
“We believe China is doing more than they’ve ever done before,” Mr. Pence said. “The president is grateful for that.”
But he added that he expected Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi to discuss the issue of “enforcement of those sanctions — and really the unique role that China can play in ensuring” the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders will meet at the end of the month at the Group of 20 gathering in Buenos Aires.
Mr. Pence’s remarks came after the release of a congressional report that said China appeared to have eased up on the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea. The annual report by the U. S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission asked the United States Treasury Department to list Chinese businesses, entities and individuals doing business with North Korea that might be subject to United States sanctions.
Also on Thursday, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed that trade talks with the United States had resumed following a phone call this month between Mr.
