China on Tuesday took a swipe at the United States, saying there was „no reason“ to refuse dialogue with North Korea despite a string of missile tests strongly condemned by the UN Security Council.<\/b>
\nUNITED NATIONS, United States \u2014 China on Tuesday took a swipe at the United States, saying there was \u201cno reason\u201d to refuse dialogue with North Korea despite a string of missile tests strongly condemned by the UN Security Council.
The council met behind closed doors to discuss tightening sanctions on North Korea following the launch on Sunday of a medium-range missile that again raised alarm over Pyongyang\u2019s military capabilities.
But China, the North\u2019s main trade partner and ally, made clear that the push for diplomatic talks \u2014 not imposing more sanctions\u2013 was the priority.
\u201cThere is no reason why dialogue is not taking place in the current situation, \u201d Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi told reporters after the meeting, adding: \u201cIt takes political will.\u201d
The United States has said it was willing to enter into talks with North Korea \u2014 but only if it halts its missile and nuclear tests.
\u201cThe need for dialogue is very strong, \u201d Liu insisted. \u201cWe don\u2019 t see why dialogue cannot take place in the current situation now.\u201d
The ambassador stressed that during previous efforts to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula, \u201cevery progress was achieved as a result of dialogue.\u201d
China has repeatedly called for a resumption of six-party talks that have been dormant since North Korea walked out on the negotiations in 2009.
Aside from China and North Korea, the talks include the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan.
North Korea on Sunday launched the Pukguksong-2, which traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan.
The launch was the latest in a series this year as Pyongyang steps up its efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.
The United States has for weeks been negotiating a new Security Council sanctions resolution with China, but US Ambassador Nikki Haley said last week that no final draft had been clinched.
Asked about imposing new sanctions, the Chinese ambassador responded that \u201cthis was a hypothetical question\u201d and added that current sanctions must be applied \u201cin a comprehensive way.\u201d
In a unanimous statement adopted on Monday, the council instructed the UN sanctions committee to redouble efforts to implement a series of tough measures adopted last year.
The council also agreed to \u201ctake further significant measures including sanctions\u201d to force North Korea to change course and end its \u201chighly destabilizing behavior.\u201d
Calling the missile launches \u201ctotally unacceptable, \u201d Japanese Ambassador Koro Bessho said \u201cthe international community must not leave this total defiance unanswered.\u201d
\u201cWe hope we will be able to strengthen the sanctions mechanism, \u201d he said.
North Korea has carried out 11 missile launches this year, said Uruguay\u2019s Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, this month\u2019s council president, describing the tests as a \u201cquantum leap\u201d that showed \u201cdetermined efforts to acquire aggressive capabilities.\u201d
But Rosselli declined to specify whether a new sanctions resolution was being prepared, saying the council was \u201cdiscussing and considering different options.\u201d
In response to the latest launch, the United Nations called on North Korea \u201cto stop further testing and allow space to explore the resumption of meaningful dialogue.\u201d
The North, which says it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion, said it \u201cflatly rejected\u201d the UN statement, which had been drawn up by \u201cthe US and its followers.\u201d
The Security Council adopted two sanctions resolutions last year to ramp up pressure on Pyongyang and deny leader Kim Jong-Un the hard currency needed to fund his military programs.
In all, six sets of sanctions have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006. CBB<\/p>\n