U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
has landed in China to seek its help in reining in its ally North Korea,
which has threatened thermonuclear war on South Korea and America.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for peace, dialogue and denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula during today's talks, according to the country's state-run news agency Xinhua.
Mr Kerry arrived in Beijing today to persuade Chinese leaders to exert pressure on North Korea to scale back its belligerent rhetoric and, eventually, return to nuclear talks.
Travelling
to Beijing for the first time as secretary of state, Mr Kerry made no
secret of his desire to see China take a more activist stance towards
North Korea, which in recent weeks has threatened nuclear war against
the United States and South Korea.
As the North's main trading partner, financial backer and the closest thing it has to a diplomatic ally, China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished, isolated state, Mr Kerry said in the South Korean capital, Seoul, yesterday before leaving for Beijing.
'Mr. President, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues - issues on the Korean peninsula, the challenge of Iran and nuclear weapons, Syria and the Middle East, and economies around the world that are in need of a boost,' Mr Kerry told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
Mr Kerry said after the meeting that his talks with Xi were 'constructive and forward-leaning', though he did not elaborate further.
Chinese state television quoted
Premier Li Keqiang as telling Mr Kerry that rising tensions on the
Korean peninsula were in nobody's interests. Foreign Minister Wang Yi
called for peace, dialogue and denuclearisation of the peninsula, the
official Xinhua news agency reported.
'All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and be responsible for the consequences,' the television report paraphrased Li as saying.
'Disturbances and provocation
on the peninsula and regionally will harm the interests of all sides,
which is like lifting a rock only to drop it on one's feet.'
China had a testy relationship with Mr Kerry's predecessor, Hillary Clinton, believing her to be too abrasive in their disagreements over everything from human rights to territorial disputes like the South China Sea.
'Clinton added fuel to the mistrust
during her four-year term. We hope Kerry can pull it in the other
direction,' China's widely read and influential Global Times tabloid
said in an editorial.
Mr Kerry's visit to Asia, which will include a stop in Tokyo tomorrow, takes place after weeks of shrill North Korean threats of war since the imposition of new UN sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February.
North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said on Friday were its 'treasured' guarantor of security.
North Korean television made no mention of the U.S. politician's visit today and devoted most of its reports to preparations for Monday's celebrations marking the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung.
These included a numerous floral tributes and grandiose flower show, foreign visitors seeing the sights of the capital ahead of the festivities and the unveiling of a monument in a provincial town.
But Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party's newspaper, issued a fresh denunciation of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, saying: 'The outbreak of nuclear war has now become a fait accompli, owing to the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces.
'If the enemies dare provoke (North Korea) while going reckless, it will immediately blow them up with an annihilating strike with the use of powerful nuclear means.'
However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting a government source, said North Korea had not moved any of its mobile missile launchers for the past two days after media reports that as many as five missiles had been moved into place on the country's east coast.
Yonhap said there had been no signs of any movement by the mobile launchers since Thursday 'or that missile launches are imminent'.
Beijing, which sided with
North Korea in the 1950-53 civil war against the U.S.- backed South, has
been reluctant to apply pressure on Pyongyang, fearing the instability
that could result if the North were to implode and send floods of
refugees into China. It has looked askance at U.S. military drills in
South Korea.
Xinhua said in a commentary that Washington had itself been 'fanning the flames' on the Korean peninsula with its shows of force.
'It keeps sending more
fighters, bombers and missile-defence ships to the waters of East Asia
and carrying out massive military drills with Asian allies in a dramatic
display of preemptive power,' it said.
However, U.S. officials believe China's rhetoric on North Korea has begun to shift, pointing to a recent speech by China's Xi in which - without referring explicitly to Pyongyang - he said no country 'should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain'.
The United States and its allies believe the North violated the a 2005 aid-for-denuclearisation deal by conducting a nuclear test in 2006 and pursuing a uranium enrichment programme that would give it a second path to a nuclear weapon in addition to its plutonium-based programme.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for peace, dialogue and denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula during today's talks, according to the country's state-run news agency Xinhua.
Mr Kerry arrived in Beijing today to persuade Chinese leaders to exert pressure on North Korea to scale back its belligerent rhetoric and, eventually, return to nuclear talks.
Tensions: South Korean soldiers are seen
patrolling along a barbed-wire fence near the border village of the
Panmunjom in Paju amid rising tensions on the peninsula
Troops: North Korean soldiers are seen through
fences on Hwanggumpyong Island, near Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese
border city of Dandong, today
As the North's main trading partner, financial backer and the closest thing it has to a diplomatic ally, China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished, isolated state, Mr Kerry said in the South Korean capital, Seoul, yesterday before leaving for Beijing.
'Mr. President, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues - issues on the Korean peninsula, the challenge of Iran and nuclear weapons, Syria and the Middle East, and economies around the world that are in need of a boost,' Mr Kerry told Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
Mr Kerry said after the meeting that his talks with Xi were 'constructive and forward-leaning', though he did not elaborate further.
Persuasion: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with China's Premier Li Keqiang during a meeting in Beijing today
'All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and be responsible for the consequences,' the television report paraphrased Li as saying.
Talks: China's Foreign Minister is said to have called for 'peace, dialogue and denuclearisation' during today's meeting
'Critical time': Mr Kerry, seen left arriving in
Beijing and right shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping, has
made no secret of his desire to see China take a more activist stance
towards Pyongyang
Crisis talks: Mr Kerry with China's Premier Li Keqiang at a meeting at Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound today
China had a testy relationship with Mr Kerry's predecessor, Hillary Clinton, believing her to be too abrasive in their disagreements over everything from human rights to territorial disputes like the South China Sea.
Threats: The U.S. Secretary of State arrived in China today to seek the country's help in reigning in a belligerent North Korea
Mr Kerry's visit to Asia, which will include a stop in Tokyo tomorrow, takes place after weeks of shrill North Korean threats of war since the imposition of new UN sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February.
North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said on Friday were its 'treasured' guarantor of security.
North Korean television made no mention of the U.S. politician's visit today and devoted most of its reports to preparations for Monday's celebrations marking the birth date of state founder Kim Il-Sung.
These included a numerous floral tributes and grandiose flower show, foreign visitors seeing the sights of the capital ahead of the festivities and the unveiling of a monument in a provincial town.
But Rodong Sinmun, the ruling Workers' Party's newspaper, issued a fresh denunciation of joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, saying: 'The outbreak of nuclear war has now become a fait accompli, owing to the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces.
'If the enemies dare provoke (North Korea) while going reckless, it will immediately blow them up with an annihilating strike with the use of powerful nuclear means.'
However, South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting a government source, said North Korea had not moved any of its mobile missile launchers for the past two days after media reports that as many as five missiles had been moved into place on the country's east coast.
Yonhap said there had been no signs of any movement by the mobile launchers since Thursday 'or that missile launches are imminent'.
Belligerent: A North Korean soldier practices boxing moves in front of a guard tower on the banks of the Yalu River
Patrol: A North Korean soldier is seen talking on her mobile phone close to the town of Sinuju
Xinhua said in a commentary that Washington had itself been 'fanning the flames' on the Korean peninsula with its shows of force.
Brinksmanship: A North Korean soldier takes pictures at the border village of Panmunjom
High-stakes: North Korea has threatened thermonuclear war on South Korea and the United States
However, U.S. officials believe China's rhetoric on North Korea has begun to shift, pointing to a recent speech by China's Xi in which - without referring explicitly to Pyongyang - he said no country 'should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain'.
Meetings: John Kerry has urged Pyongyang's ally China to help rein in the rogue state
Mr
Kerry told reporters in Seoul that if North Korea's 30-year-old leader
went ahead with the launch of a medium-range missile, he would be making
'a huge mistake'.
At
a news conference in Seoul on Friday and in a U.S.-South Korean joint
statement issued on Saturday, Mr Kerry signalled the U.S. preference for
diplomacy to end the tension, but stressed North Korea must take
'meaningful' steps on denuclearisation.The United States and its allies believe the North violated the a 2005 aid-for-denuclearisation deal by conducting a nuclear test in 2006 and pursuing a uranium enrichment programme that would give it a second path to a nuclear weapon in addition to its plutonium-based programme.
Keeping watch: The eyes of the world are on North Korea as it steps up its threatening rhetoric
'Peace and dialogue': China's Foreign Minister
Wang Yi, seen right with Mr Kerry, is said to have called for peace on
the Korean peninsula
Teamwork: Secretary of State John Kerry (centre)
looks on as U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke (left) shakes hands
with China's Premier Li Keqiang (right) during today's meeting