 |
||||||||
|
China's stance on North Korea has become tougher following Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, different from when the North launched its missiles in July, a senior U.S. official said Thursday.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said there was some ambivalence by China in the last four months after North Korea test-fired several ballistic missiles.
"China did not, in our view, take the kind of forceful diplomatic action that we might have expected," he said on weekly news show "One on One," to be broadcast this weekend.
"You've seen a very different reaction this time," Burns said.
Pyongyang declared on Oct. 9 that it successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, a claim officially confirmed by the U.S. intelligence a week later. The nuclear explosion followed the communist regime's multiple missile launches on July 4.
The U.N. Security Council adopted unanimous resolutions both times, but China took out much of the harsh language in the documents, to the frustration of the United States. A U.N. committee that will oversee sanctions implementation against the North began operating Thursday afternoon.
Burns argued that China did change, one of the signs being the dispatch of a high-level envoy to Pyongyang. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan just returned to Beijing after meeting North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-il and will meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday.
Tang's travel to the North eclipsed U.S. media reports that Pyongyang was preparing for another round of nuclear tests.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Tang and Kim had "in-depth discussions" about the nuclear dispute.
"We hope China's diplomatic efforts... will bear fruit," the spokesman said.
Burns said Tang apparently "gave a very direct message to them (North Koreans)."
"What we said to the Chinese is, this is on your plate, as well as on our plate."
State Department spokesman Tom Casey also highlighted Tang's mission.
"We understand he's carrying a very strong message from the Chinese government about the need for the North Koreans not to engage in additional nuclear tests," he said at a daily briefing.
But the words coming from Pyongyang continued to blame Washington for the current standoff.
The U.S. is asking North Korea to kneel, Gen. Ri Chan-bok told ABC in an interview in Pyongyang, and in that case, war will be inevitable.
Ri said his government will use its nuclear weapons "to defend our country and our people" and not to sell to another country or terrorist organizations. He claimed North Korea has the means to deliver nuclear weapons and that the country "is ready."
White House press secretary Tony Snow refuted Ri's accusations.
"Let me make clear, to the people of North Korea and the entire world, not only do we not want North Korea to kneel down... what we are trying to do is offer them a better deal, better economy, more security, better relations with their neighbors," he said.
The U.S. is not interested in personal insults about North Korea's leader Kim, he said.
"So at this particular point, again, as to the central charge of trying to humiliate or bring down the government, to make them go to their knees, it's just the opposite," Snow said.
Yonhap News 2006.10.20
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said there was some ambivalence by China in the last four months after North Korea test-fired several ballistic missiles.
"China did not, in our view, take the kind of forceful diplomatic action that we might have expected," he said on weekly news show "One on One," to be broadcast this weekend.
"You've seen a very different reaction this time," Burns said.
Pyongyang declared on Oct. 9 that it successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, a claim officially confirmed by the U.S. intelligence a week later. The nuclear explosion followed the communist regime's multiple missile launches on July 4.
The U.N. Security Council adopted unanimous resolutions both times, but China took out much of the harsh language in the documents, to the frustration of the United States. A U.N. committee that will oversee sanctions implementation against the North began operating Thursday afternoon.
Burns argued that China did change, one of the signs being the dispatch of a high-level envoy to Pyongyang. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan just returned to Beijing after meeting North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-il and will meet U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday.
Tang's travel to the North eclipsed U.S. media reports that Pyongyang was preparing for another round of nuclear tests.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Tang and Kim had "in-depth discussions" about the nuclear dispute.
"We hope China's diplomatic efforts... will bear fruit," the spokesman said.
Burns said Tang apparently "gave a very direct message to them (North Koreans)."
"What we said to the Chinese is, this is on your plate, as well as on our plate."
State Department spokesman Tom Casey also highlighted Tang's mission.
"We understand he's carrying a very strong message from the Chinese government about the need for the North Koreans not to engage in additional nuclear tests," he said at a daily briefing.
But the words coming from Pyongyang continued to blame Washington for the current standoff.
The U.S. is asking North Korea to kneel, Gen. Ri Chan-bok told ABC in an interview in Pyongyang, and in that case, war will be inevitable.
Ri said his government will use its nuclear weapons "to defend our country and our people" and not to sell to another country or terrorist organizations. He claimed North Korea has the means to deliver nuclear weapons and that the country "is ready."
White House press secretary Tony Snow refuted Ri's accusations.
"Let me make clear, to the people of North Korea and the entire world, not only do we not want North Korea to kneel down... what we are trying to do is offer them a better deal, better economy, more security, better relations with their neighbors," he said.
The U.S. is not interested in personal insults about North Korea's leader Kim, he said.
"So at this particular point, again, as to the central charge of trying to humiliate or bring down the government, to make them go to their knees, it's just the opposite," Snow said.
Yonhap News 2006.10.20
