(Xinhua) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday stressed two directions in
dealing with the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, at the UN
Security Council Ministerial Meeting on the Non-Proliferation/the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Addressing the meeting, Wang said that "we must stay committed to the goal of denuclearization."
"All parties should comprehensively understand and fully implement DPRK-related Security Council resolutions," he said.
The
foreign minister said that denuclearization is the basic precondition
for long-term peace and stability on the peninsula and "what we must
accomplish to safeguard the international nuclear non-proliferation
regime."
The Security Council held a special meeting Friday to
discuss the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres briefed the meeting, which was chaired by U.S. Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the
Security Council this month.
Wang and foreign ministers or vice foreign ministers of Britain, Russia, Senegal and Japan, attended the meeting.
"The
continued escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the recent
period has caused widespread concerns and worries of the international
community," said Wang.
"If the issue of the Peninsula fails to be
put under effective control and in the case of unexpected events, the
situation is highly likely to take a drastic turn for the worse and
spiral out of control," he added.
All the 15 members of the
Security Council addressed the Security Council focusing on the nuclear
issue on the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of relevant UN
resolutions.
South Korean media said that on Saturday morning, the
DPRK testfired a mid-range ballistic missile that apparently failed
shortly after launch.
At the UN Security Council special meeting,
Wang stressed in his address the significance of continued commitment to
dialogue and negotiation on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
"We must stay committed to the path of dialogue and negotiation," the Chinese foreign minister said.
"The
use of force does not resolve differences, and will only lead to bigger
disasters," Wang noted, adding that "as the only way out, dialogue and
negotiation also represent the sensible choice for all parties."
"Our
past experience of resolving the nuclear issue on the Peninsula shows,
whenever dialogue and negotiation were ongoing, the situation on the
Peninsula would maintain basic stability and efforts toward
denuclearization could make progress," said the minister.
He
recalled the five years between 2003 and 2007 when the parties were
engaged in dialogue and negotiation, and three joint documents were
adopted, noting "In particular, the September 19th Joint
Statement in
2005 set out the roadmap for the DPRK's abandonment of all nuclear
programs and the realization of peace on the Peninsula."
"Even
today, the Joint Statement still carries major positive significance,
and has been reaffirmed and acknowledged by all DPRK-related resolutions
of the Security Council," Wang said.
Noting that China is not a
focal point of the problem on the Peninsula, Wang noted that "the key to
solving the nuclear issue on the Peninsula does not lie in the hands of
the Chinese side."
"China has over the years made unremitting
efforts and played a unique role in promoting a negotiated solution of
the issue," said Wang, adding that "it was through China's efforts and
the support of all parties that the Three-Party Talks on the Peninsula
nuclear issue was expanded to the Six-Party Talks."
"Under the
current circumstances, China is still prepared to work with all parties
to make new contributions to the resolution of the nuclear issue on the
Peninsula," the minister stressed.
In his address to the meeting, Guterres warned that armed conflict in Northeast Asia "would have global ramifications."
"We must act now to prevent conflict and achieve sustainable peace," he told the open meeting.
Guterres condemned "in the strongest terms" the repeated violations of the relevant Security Council resolutions by the DPRK.
Echoing
the UN chief, the Chinese foreign minister said that "we urge the DPRK
to stop its nuclear and missile development activities, come back to its
commitment of denuclearization and honor its denuclearization
obligations."
The minister also called on all parties to remain
calm and exercise restraint and avoid provocative rhetoric or actions
that would lead to miscalculation.
Tillerson opened the meeting
with a statement calling on all member states to enforce the existing
sanctions, halt or downgrade diplomatic relations with the DPRK, and
increase the country's isolation with new sanctions and with a
tightening of existing measures.
He said that all options would remain on the table to counter the DPRK action with military action if necessary.
On
Saturday, the DPRK test-fired a ballistic missile, which exploded
shortly after liftoff, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
It
conducted a hydrogen bomb test and a nuclear warhead explosion test on
Jan. 6 and Sept. 9 of 2016, respectively. The Security Council adopted
resolutions on March 2 and Nov. 30 of 2016, respectively, demanding that
the DPRK abandon its nuclear weapon and missile programs and imposing
sanctions on it.
Source: Xinhua
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