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The meeting in Washington on Feb. 23 between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi can be summed up as having two aspects: bringing a swift conclusion to the matter of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution sanctioning North Korea for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, and discussing how to resume dialogue with Pyongyang afterwards.

Kerry’s response to Yi’s proposal of a two-track approach of denuclearization and working toward a peace treaty was particularly noteworthy. Rather than explicitly ruling it out, Kerry actively acknowledged the need for such a treaty. In that sense, Washington‘s response is clearly different from the mood in Seoul, which continues pushing for a hard line against Pyongyang.

“We want to pursue in parallel tracks the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the replacement of the Korean armistice with a peace agreement,” Wang said while explaining his proposal to the US in a joint press conference with Kerry at the State Department after the talks on Feb. 24.

Kerry seemed to respond favorably to the idea.

“The goal of [the UNSC resolution] is not to be in a series of cycling, repetitive punishments,” he asserted.

“What we need is for the DPRK to understand that . . . it can actually ultimately have a peace agreement with the United States of America that resolves the unresolved issues of the Korean Peninsula, if it will come to the table and negotiate the denuclearization,” he added.

Kerry also sounded a more noncommittal note when asked about the potential deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system with US Forces Korea.

“The way to not only prevent THAAD from being deployed but also to see America be in a position to have less troops on the peninsula - maybe, one day - is by resolving the issue of the nuclear program in the DPRK and ultimately making peace on the peninsula,” he said.

“We want a negotiated outcome,” he said.

Kerry’s remarks do not necessarily confirm whether Washington has accepted the two-track sequence of denuclearization and peace treaty discussions that Wang has proposed. But with Washington officially rejecting the proposal on the grounds that denuclearization discussions should come first, the mere fact that Kerry voiced active agreement on the need for a peace treaty signals a shift in attitudes.

Kerry repeatedly stressed that the UNSC sanctions were aimed at bringing North Korea to the table for negotiations. This too can be a seen as a reflection of China‘s position, showing that the focus of US-China discussions is shifting to what happens after the sanctions are imposed.

The two sides’ decision to shift focus from bitter opposition on the level of sanctions and THAAD deployment toward managing the situation on the peninsula and working toward dialogue and negotiation appears to be based on their grave conclusions about the peninsula‘s state at the moment.

“Both sides feel that we need to monitor the situation on the peninsula very closely in the coming two months,” Wang said during the press conference.

“In particular, we must prevent the situation on the peninsula from spinning out of control,” he added.

That conclusion from the US and China appears to stem from concerns that the situation could get worse, with the North Korean People’s Army warning of a “strike against the Blue House,” South Korea taking the offensive against Pyongyang, and joint South Korea-US military exercises scheduled over the next two months. It’s a perception that also appears to have informed the US’s decision to slow things down with the THAAD deployment, with Kerry pointedly noting that “a decision has not yet been made.”

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]