China calls on North Korea to suspend nukes, US to stop military drills

North Korea should suspend its nuclear activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting their annual joint military drills, China proposed on Wednesday, as tensions between the two sides escalate. The actions would bring the two parties back to the negotiating table, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters on the sidelines of […]

North Korea should suspend its nuclear activities in exchange for the US and South Korea halting their annual joint military drills, China proposed on Wednesday, as tensions between the two sides escalate.

The actions would bring the two parties back to the negotiating table, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters on the sidelines of the annual plenary session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

His comments came after North Korea launched four ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Monday and the US in response began the deployment of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to South Korea.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned North Korea’s missile launches, which contravene UN resolutions, and expressed concern over Pyongyang’s "increasingly destabilizing behaviour.”

Wang said Pyongyang on one side and and Seoul and Washington on the other were "like two accelerating trains coming toward each other with neither side willing to give way.

"The question is are the sides really ready for a head-on collision?” he continued.

China’s role was to switch the tracks and help apply the brakes in order to avoid the collision, he said.

The issue was mainly between the US and North Korea, though China was also "indispensable to the resolution of the nuclear issue," Wang said.

“China has a strong commitment to denuclearizing the peninsula," he added. “Nuclear weapons will not bring security. The use of force will not bring solutions. Talks deserve another chance, and peace is still within our grasp.”

Chinese efforts to restart an international forum on North Korea’s denuclearization have failed repeatedly in recent years, and Beijing usually blames the US and North Korea for escalating tensions in the region.

In particular, China has long criticized Washington and Seoul’s plans to deploy a missile defence system in South Korea, which it worries could shift the balance of power in the region.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said the country firmly opposed the deployment of THAAD and would "take necessary measures to safeguard (its) security interests.”

Nevertheless, Wang said, China-US relations were developing "in a positive direction," referring to a phone call in February between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During the call, Trump reaffirmed US commitment to the "One China" policy, according to which countries that seek diplomatic relations with China must break official relations with Taiwan.

As long as both sides "follow a policy of no conflict and mutual respect, there is no reason why China and the US can’t become excellent partners," Wang said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to travel to Japan, South Korea and China later this month for talks which will include the "advancing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea," the State Department announced Tuesday.

Tillerson is expected to arrive in Beijing on March 18, after visiting Tokyo and Seoul. (DPA)