U. S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday the Trump administration believes China is using „back channel networking“ with North Korea to try and get Kim Jong Un to stop nuclear and ballistic missile testing.
UNITED NATIONS— U. S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday the Trump administration believes China is using “back channel networking” with North Korea to try and get Kim Jong Un to stop nuclear and ballistic missile testing.
“We believe they are being productive, ” she told reporters. “We do think they’ re trying to counter what is happening now.”
Haley said China knows North Korea best “and so we’ re going to keep the pressure on China, but we’ re going to continue to work with them in any way that they think is best.”
At the same time, Haley said, the United States and China are discussing the timing of a new Security Council resolution that would toughen sanctions against North Korea in response to its latest ballistic missile launches. The latest launch on Monday was the third in three weeks.
Beijing is North Korea’s traditional ally and accounts for up to 90 percent of the isolated nation’s external trade, giving it considerable economic leverage. But there are limits to China’s influence and its willingness to use it.
North Korea has advanced its nuclear weapons program over Chinese objections. Notwithstanding U. S. calls for China to turn the screw, Beijing remains reluctant to impose biting economic pressure as it fears a North Korean collapse that would lead to instability on China’s doorstep.
China’s U.
