Pressure must be coupled with direct talks, writes Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States.
China is deeply concerned about the current tension on the Korean Peninsula, which poses a grave threat to our national security. China has more than 750 miles of borders with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) . The DPRK nuclear test site is just dozens of miles away from Northeast China. Any accident, nuclear or military, will have a catastrophic spillover on us.
China has done its utmost for years to help stop the DPRK nuclear program. We voted for all the United Nations Security Council resolutions sanctioning the DPRK for its nuclear tests, and have been faithfully implementing them. Most recently, we suspended coal imports from the DPRK for the whole year. And we will continue to enhance law enforcement along our border with the DPRK.
The pressure, economic and military, on the DPRK continues to build up. Yet how much is sufficient without triggering a humanitarian crisis or pushing Pyongyang into desperation? Another Iraq, Libya or Syria in Northeast Asia is a nightmare for all.
