Chinese Foreign Minister calls for denuclearization and peace treaty

Posted on : 2016-02-18 17:23 KST Modified on : 2016-02-18 17:23 KST
Comments in Beijing apparently first ever call for both denuclearization and treaty between US and N. Korea
Wang Yi
Wang Yi

China issued a proposal on Feb. 17 for talks toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the signing of a North Korea-US peace treaty.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks came during a press conference following talks with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop in Beijing.

“While China does not bear [responsibility] for the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, as chair country for the six-party talks [on the nuclear issue] it proposes talks toward both achieving denuclearization and replacing the [existing North Korea-US] armistice agreement with a peace treaty,” Wang said.

This marks the first time Beijing has officially proposed pursuing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a North Korea-US peace treaty simultaneously.

“The problems that are a source of serious conflict in the world today cannot be fundamentally solved through pressure and sanctions alone. Military means are all the more unacceptable because of the grave results they lead to,” Wang said.

“The aim of this proposal is to achieve a balanced solution to the different countries’ chief concerns while making the goals of dialogue and negotiation clear and finding a way back toward dialogue quickly,” he continued.

“This will also help in achieving a fundamental solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.”

Wang went on to call for a resumption of talks as soon as possible.

“The six-party talks have been halted for eight years, and the results have been undesirable for everyone,” he said.

Regarding efforts toward a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution for sanctions against North Korea, Wang said the North Korean nuclear and rocket launch “were consecutive violations of UNSC resolutions for which [North Korea] should pay the necessary price, and [China] is working to hasten a new resolution.”

China‘s proposal represents a compromise between the denuclearization demanded by South Korea and the US and the peace treaty with the US that North Korea desires to maintain the stability of its regime.

In the past, China has advocated denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula but argued against forceful sanctions that could cause chaos or lead to a rapid collapse of the regime in Pyongyang, while asking South Korea and the US to understand North Korea’s own security concerns.

“This is the first time China has proposed pursuing both denuclearization and a peace treaty,” noted one foreign affairs source in Beijing.

“It seems to reflect Beijing’s aim of pursuing a UNSC sanctions resolution while also luring North Korea into dialogue,” the source added.

It remains to be seen how the proposal is taken by North Korea, or by South Korea and the US.

“North Korea has already included nuclear development in its Constitution, and South Korea and the US have said they can only sign a peace treaty once progress has been made in denuclearization,” said another foreign affairs source.

“It doesn’t seem likely that this proposal is going to be accepted now when it’s so similar at root to the September 19 Joint Statement,” the source added, referring to a previous agreement reached through the six-party talks in 2005.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

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