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By Park Min-hee, Beijing correspondent
China’s foreign ministry moved quickly on the day North Korea announced its planned launch of the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite. Zhang Zhijun, the country’s vice foreign minister, met Friday with North Korea’s ambassador in Beijing, Chi Chae-yong, to express concern about the announcement, disclosing this fact Saturday through the ministry’s website and the Xinhua news agency.
Beijing has consistently voiced objections to North Korea’s missile launches and nuclear tests, taking part in UN Secretary Council resolutions for sanctions and Presidential Statements in connection with this. It also voted for UNSC Resolution 1874, which included a provision banning all North Korean launches using ballistic missile technology.
But analysts said it was somewhat unusual for Beijing to apply pressure so promptly after the launch announcement, and to announce this openly. In so doing, it showed serious concerns about the ramifications of the launch on the six-party talks and inter-Korean tensions at a time when North Korea and the US had reached an agreement and steps were being taken to resume the talks, they said.
Stability on the Korean Peninsula is an important issue for China, which faces a complex political situation ahead of a leadership change this year. If North Korea goes ahead with the launch, there is a strong chance that China will face another vexing choice at the UN Security Council.
A diplomatic source in Beijing said, “China is very flustered over North Korea’s sudden dissolution of the negotiation framework created during its agreement with Washington, and it appears set to go to work persuading and pressuring Pyongyang to cancel the launch.”
For an international community where more and more are demanding that Beijing use its influence over Pyongyang, attention is coming to its meeting with North Korean vice foreign minister Ri Yong-ho, the country’s senior representative to the six-party talks. Ri arrived in Beijing on Saturday after visits to the US and Russia.
Ri is known to have initially planned to discuss a resumption of the six-party talks with Wu Dawei, China’s special representative on Korean Peninsular affairs. But with the emergence of the Kwangmyongsong issue, the focus among observers is now on whether discussions will be able to take place and how Beijing will attempt to dissuade North Korea.
　
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