China warns against bringing chaos to Korean peninsula

It makes clear that push for talks is the priority, not more sanctions

BEIJING • China said yesterday that no one had the right to bring chaos to the Korean peninsula, a day after it pushed for full implementation of United Nations sanctions against neighbouring North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests and called for dialogue.

"No matter which party it is, no one has the right to bring war and chaos upon the peninsula," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters after meeting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

He said anyone who did so would bear "historical responsibility".

China hopes to work to bring the situation quickly back to the correct track of dialogue, Mr Wang said, adding that China already fully implements its sanctions commitments.

China, the North's main trade partner and ally, made clear that the push for diplomatic talks - not imposing more sanctions - was the priority. The US has for weeks been negotiating a new Security Council sanctions resolution with China, but US Ambassador Nikki Haley said last week that no final draft had been clinched.

Mr Wang's comments came a day after South Korea's military fired warning shots at an unidentified object from North Korea on Tuesday.

South Korea's Defence Ministry said yesterday that detailed examinations pointed to "balloon-like objects", 10 of which were observed flying with the winds in the border area.

Tensions are high on the Korean peninsula following the launch on Sunday of a medium-range missile that again raised alarm over Pyongyang's military capabilities.

US President Donald Trump in a telephone call last month with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hinted at a possible dramatic escalation on the Korean Peninsula.

Mr Trump called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a "madman with nuclear weapons" during the April 29 phone call, according to a transcript of the conversation released by US media on Tuesday.

"We can't let a madman with nuclear weapons on the loose like that. We have a lot of firepower, more than he has, times 20 - but we don't want to use it," the US leader said, citing "two nuclear submarines" the Pentagon sent to the area last month.

Transcribed by the Philippine government, the conversation was released by The Washington Post and The Intercept. Mr Trump also queried Mr Duterte about whether he believed the North Korean leader was "stable or not stable".

The Philippine leader responded that their North Korean counterpart's "mind is not working and he might just go crazy one moment".

Mr Kim has a "dangerous toy in his hands that could create so much agony and suffering for all mankind", he added. But Mr Trump appeared reassured that North Korea's recent missile tests had failed, saying that "all his rockets are crashing. That's the good news."

But US Defence Intelligence Agency director Lieutenant-General Vincent Stewart told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that if left unchecked, North Korea is on an "inevitable" path to obtaining a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the United States.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 25, 2017, with the headline China warns against bringing chaos to Korean peninsula. Subscribe