SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 North Korea has issued a rare direct criticism of China through a commentary saying its…<\/b>
\nSEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 North Korea has issued a rare direct criticism of China through a commentary saying its \u201creckless remarks\u201d on the North\u2019s nuclear program are testing its patience and could trigger unspecified \u201cgrave\u201d consequences.
China, North Korea\u2019s largest trading partner and main benefactor, suspended imports of North Korean coal in line with U. N. sanctions earlier this year and has recently been urging its traditional ally to stop nuclear and missile activities amid U. S. pressure to use its leverage to resolve the nuclear standoff. Chinese state media have also unleashed regular and harsh criticisms on North Korea.
The commentary released Wednesday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency said that \u201ca string of absurd and reckless remarks are now heard from China every day only to render the present bad situation tenser.\u201d
Asked about the KCNA commentary during a regular briefing Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing\u2019s position on \u201cdeveloping good neighborly and friendly cooperation with North Korea is also consistent and clear.\u201d
The North Korean article cited recent commentaries by Chinese state media that it said shifted the blame for deteriorating bilateral relations onto the North and raised \u201clame excuses for the base acts of dancing to the tune of the U. S.\u201d
\u201cChina should no longer try to test the limits of the DPRK\u2019s patience, \u201d the North Korean commentary said, using the acronym for its official name, the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea. \u201cChina had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations.\u201d
The article was not attributed to any government agency or official; the writer was identified only as Kim Chol. Still, it\u2019s unusual for the North to directly criticize China. Previously it has couched such criticism by referring to China only as \u201ca neighboring country.\u201d
Analyst Cheong Seong-chang at South Korea\u2019s private Sejong Institute said the North\u2019s discontent at China appears to be on the \u201cverge of exploding.\u201d He said North Korea will likely ignore China from now on while trying to strengthen ties with Russia and improve relations with a new South Korean government to be inaugurated next week.
The Global Times, an outspoken nationalist tabloid published by China\u2019s ruling Communist Party\u2019s flagship People\u2019s Daily, warned in a Thursday editorial that the North\u2019s actions threatened a 1961 treaty of non-aggression between the two countries. It called on the North to end its nuclear tests.
\u201cChina will not allow its northeastern region to be contaminated by North Korea\u2019s nuclear activities, \u201d the Global Times declared.
In recent days, the paper also warned that China was able to strike back \u201cat any side that crosses the red line\u201d and would impose an oil embargo against the North in response to any more tests. The North Korean commentary said it\u2019s China that crossed \u201cthe red line.\u201d
The People\u2019s Daily declared Sunday \u2014 and again on Tuesday \u2014 that the North\u2019s nuclear ambitions \u201cput itself and the whole region into dire peril.\u201d
Associated Press writer Matthew Brown and news assistant Liu Zheng contributed to this report from Beijing.
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