China to G7, EU: We ‘strictly’ implement UN sanctions on North Korea
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North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK - China asserted on Monday that it “strictly” implements United Nations sanctions on North Korea, reacting to a letter from the Group of Seven (G-7), European Union and others that urged Beijing to stop Pyongyang from evading the measures by using Chinese waters.
The letter sent on Friday expressed concern about “the continuing presence of multiple oil tankers… that use your territorial waters in Sansha Bay as refuge to facilitate their trade of sanctioned petroleum products” to North Korea.
It was signed by G-7 members
“China has always been strictly implementing #UNSC resolutions and seriously fulfilling international obligations,” China’s UN mission spokesman posted on Twitter in response to a Reuters report on the letter to China’s UN envoy Zhang Jun.
“China urges relevant parties to fully implement UNSC resolutions on the DPRK, especially provisions related to resuming dialogue, strengthening diplomatic efforts, and promoting political settlement,” the spokesman said.
North Korea, formally named Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
So-called six-party denuclearisation talks – between North Korea, South Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan – stalled in 2009.
Talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019 also failed. China and Russia have since pushed for UN sanctions to be eased for humanitarian purposes and to entice Pyongyang back to talks.
China said in 2022 that the key to solving the issue of North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes was in the US’ hands, urging Washington to show “more sincerity and flexibility” if it wants a breakthrough.
At a UN Security Council meeting earlier in July on Pyongyang’s latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, deputy US Ambassador to the UN Jeffrey DeLaurentis said the US was committed to diplomacy.
“Publicly and privately, and at senior levels, we have repeatedly urged the DPRK to engage in dialogue. We have made clear that we have no preconditions for engagement, and we are prepared to discuss any topic of concern to Pyongyang. The DPRK has not responded to our offers,” he told the council. REUTERS
