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By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent in New York and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter in Beijing

China has stated that it will fully carry out United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2094, which includes tougher sanctions on North Korea. While until now China has not been eager to implement UNSC resolutions, some observers are suggesting that China's attitude is changing.

On Mar. 7 (EST), shortly after the UNSC resolution was adopted, Li Baodong, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, met with reporters. After starting off by asserting that "China is a country of principle," Li emphasized the three principles that apply to the North Korean nuclear issue. These are maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, advocating the reduction of nuclear proliferation and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and striving to find a peaceful resolution through negotiation and dialogue.

"Passing the resolution, by itself, is not enough," Li continued. "Sanctions themselves are not the purpose of adopting the resolution. We want to see the resolution completely enforced."

"Our number one task at the present is relieving tensions, calming the excitement, and putting the emphasis on diplomacy. We must orient the present situation around diplomacy and negotiations," he added.

Li's remarks, which emphasize principle and full implementation of the UNSC resolution, are contextualized by a focus on the fact that sanctions must be accompanied by dialogue and negotiations. However, they can also be taken as an indication that China, which thus far has implemented sanctions half heartedly, will begin to take a more active role. This is because the bulk of the UNSC resolution, which aims to stop North Korean efforts to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, is focused on sanctions. Only one limited section emphasizes dialogue and the reopening of the six-party talks.

Kim Sook, South Korea's ambassador to the UN, also said that China's attitude toward implementing the resolution appears to be changing. When asked at a briefing with the foreign correspondents corps whether he could sense in the deliberations with China that the country's attitude had changed, Kim responded that he could.

"On several occasions, Li told me that China, as a permanent member of the UNSC, took the UNSC resolution much more seriously than the other UNSC member states, and that China felt a sense of responsibility to implement it," Kim said.

"China's willingness to enforce the sanctions seems to be at a different level than before," a diplomatic source in Beijing said. "In particular, if China goes as far as to enforce the search of aircraft, which approaches the demands of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) on weapons of mass destruction, it will be a huge blow to North Korea."

In Dec. 2012, after North Korea launched a long-range rocket, China gave orders to the customs, financial, and security authorities instructing them to strictly enforce UNSC Resolution 2087, reports say.

"This resolution is intended to peacefully resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula, reflecting the international community's opposition to nuclear testing by North Korea," said Qin Gang, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, on the same day. "It is a balanced and appropriate measure."

When asked whether China would faithfully carry out the provisions of the resolution, Hua Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, repeated China's standard position. "As a permanent member of the UNSC, China has always carried out UNSC resolutions and its international responsibilities."

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