Ning made the remarks on Monday commenting on the remarks of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol who said that China “seems to have considerable leverage” over Pyongyang, and said, “What really matters is whether Beijing will use its leverage, and if so, how much and in what way”. “If North Korea continues to enhance its nuclear and missile capabilities and openly violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, China, which has a responsibility to maintain international peace and stability as one of the permanent members of the Security Council, should make constructive efforts to denuclearize North Korea."
"I would like to make four points. First, as friendly neighbors, China and the DPRK enjoy long-standing friendly ties. The DPRK is a full UN member state and a sovereign and independent country. The close ties we have with the DPRK and the influence China has on the DPRK are two different things and cannot be lumped together," she said.
Second, the current situation on the Korean Peninsula does not serve anyone’s interest, nor is it something that China wants to see, Ning continued, adding that the process that started in 2018 to address the Korean Peninsula issues came to a standstill fundamentally because the US has refused to respond to the denuclearization measures taken by the DPRK. Neither has the US taken the DPRK’s legitimate concerns seriously or shown readiness to address these concerns.
The US needs to draw lessons, correct course, step up to its responsibility, stop heightening the pressure and sanctions, stop military deterrence, and take effective steps to resume meaningful dialogue, she further stressed.
"Third, China has faithfully implemented relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Those resolutions are not just about sanctions. They also underscore the importance of dialogue. China believes in their full and balanced implementation and opposes selectively focusing on sanctions and ignoring the dialogue process," the senior Chinese diplomat emphasized.
"Fourth, China is committed to upholding peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and advancing the process of settling the Korean Peninsula issues through dialogue. China will continue to actively uphold stability and promote talks and push for the early realization of lasting peace and security on the Peninsula. This serves the common interests of all parties," she concluded.
MP/IRN85221036/PR
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