Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told his US counterpart Donald Trump that there have been “positive changes” on the Korean Peninsula, state media said yesterday following a telephone call between the two leaders.
However, China also dismissed an international meeting in Vancouver on the North Korean nuclear crisis hosted by Canada and the US as illegitimate, as major players such as Beijing were not present.
Trump has pushed Xi to increase economic and political pressure on North Korea in the hopes of convincing it to stop the development of its nuclear weapons program.
Photo: Reuters
In the phone call, Xi “pointed out that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has shown some positive changes,” Xinhua news agency said.
“All sides concerned should make joint efforts to keep up the hard-won momentum for the easing of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and create conditions to restart talks,” he was quoted as saying.
The call came as foreign ministers from 20 nations gathered in Vancouver to hold two-day crisis talks on the North’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.
The so-called Vancouver Group is formed by 20 countries that fought in the 1950 to 1953 Korean War. They include Australia, Britain, France, India, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.
Military officials were also to be present at the meeting.
The absence of Russia and China from the talks shows the holes in Washington’s bid to form a unified global front against North Korea’s nuclear threat.
“The most important relevant parties of the Korean Peninsula issue haven’t taken part in the meeting, so I don’t think the meeting is legal or representative,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) told a regular briefing in Beijng.
Lu denounced the “Cold War mentality” of “relevant parties” — without naming nations.
Steve Goldstein, a senior US Department of State official, told reporters last week that China and Russia would be briefed about the meeting “right when it is over.”
In related developments, Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) yesterday mistakenly flashed that North Korea appeared to have launched a missile, warning people to take cover, before apologizing minutes later for the error.
A news alert saying: “It appears North Korea launched a missile... ‘Evacuate inside buildings or underground’: government” was published by the NHK Web site and app at 6:55pm.
After just five minutes, NHK admitted the alert was sent in error.
“We’re very sorry,” NHK said on its Web site.
It comes just days after a false cellphone alert warning of an incoming ballistic missile terrified residents in Hawaii.
Additional reporting by AP
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source