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North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before their meeting at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a message to North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho on Aug. 6 urging North Korea “not to engage in actions that violate UN Security Council resolutions,” China‘s state-run media outlet Renminwang reported.

The meeting between the North Korean and Chinese foreign ministers happened around noon that day at the international convention center in Manila, the site of the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers’ meeting. Ri left the venue after approximately one hour, suggesting the meeting lasted upwards of 30 minutes. Upon his arrival at his New World Hotel accommodations after the meeting, Ri did not answer questions from reporters. Instead, North Korean Foreign Ministry department of international organizations vice director Pang Kwang-hyok, who introduced himself as a “spokesperson for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea delegation,” said the two foreign ministers had “exchanged views on the regional political situation and bilateral relations.”

While Ri kept mum before reporters, Wang freely explained the nature of the discussions. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Wang said he had “urged [North Korea] to respond objectively to the North Korea sanctions resolution announced by the UNSC, and demanded that it does not engage in any further missile launches or nuclear tests against the wishes of the UNSC and international community.”

Renminwang (portal site of the People’s Daily newspaper) also quoted Wang as saying the “situation on the [Korean] Peninsula is highly complex and sensitive, and China-North Korea relations are being affected by that.”

“The situation [on the peninsula] has reached a critical point of crisis, and a turning point that demands a decision to return to peace talks,” it reported Wang as saying. The news outlet reported Ri as having reiterated North Korea’s position on peninsula issues and expressing the wish to maintain communication with China.

Wang also told reporters that “the key thing is that the North Korean Foreign Minister has attended this [forum] meeting and is hearing from the participating countries themselves about the views they hold on Korean Peninsula issues.”

“This kind of interaction is very significant not just for other countries but for North Korea as well. We hope that in the end, North Korea will make the correct and wise decision,” he said.

The attitude from Beijing was quite different from the one seen at the 23rd ARF foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane in July 2016, where North Korea and China showed off their close relationship. Officials with the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested that Beijing is now ratcheting up its pressure on Pyongyang as the international community once again begins reemphasizing China’s role in North Korea sanctions in the wake of the North’s test launch of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile last month.

Wang also answered questions from reporters about UN Security Council Resolution 2371 sanctioning North Korea.

“Sanctions are necessary, but they are not the final goal. The goal is to return the Korean Peninsula issue to the negotiating table, to find a solution through negotiations, and to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and long-term stability,” he said.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter in Manila and Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

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