China is focused on solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through talks and peaceful means, Chinese President Xi Jinping told U. S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call on Wednesday, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
BEIJING: China is focussed on solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through talks and peaceful means, Chinese President Xi Jinping told U. S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call on Wednesday.
The United States and South Korea have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday that Pyongyang said was an advanced hydrogen bomb.
Washington and its allies have said there is a growing urgency for China, North Korea’s top ally and trading partner, to apply more pressure on its already isolated neighbour to get it to back down on its nuclear weapons and missiles programmes.
China’s focus on negotiations contrasts with Trump’s assertions over the last few days that now was not the time to focus on talks with North Korea.
In a telephone call with U. K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, “President Trump reiterated that now is not the time to talk to North Korea, and made clear that all options remain open to defend the United States and its allies against North Korean aggression, ” the White House said on Wednesday.
However, the issue was not mentioned in a separate White House statement on the Trump-Xi call, which said only that the two leaders recognised the danger posed by North Korea and committed to working together with the goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.
Earlier, a statement from China’s foreign ministry said China « unswervingly » works to realise denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula and to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation system, Xi told Trump.
