China is not using its political and economic muscle to pressure North Korea to re-enter multilateral negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear weapons drive, US President George W. Bush's chief negotiator to the talks said Tuesday.
Christopher Hill, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, also said that the US and China were split over North Korea's alleged role as a nuclear proliferator and the prospect of its illicit atomic weapons falling into terrorist hands.
Hill gave a presentation titled "Dealing with North Korea's Nuclear Programs" at a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
PHOTO: AP
Replying to remarks by panel chairman Senator Dick Lugar, Hill said: "I agree with you that China has been reluctant to use the full range of leverage that we believe China has.
"China has had North Korea as a close friend and ally for some 50 years now, and China has very close political connections, very close personal connections with the leadership, very close economic connections.
"And our request to China is to do what it has to do in order to bring them to the table," said Hill, the US leader to negotiations among the two Koreas, US, Japan, Russia and China.
North Korea has refused to participate in the nuclear talks after attending three rounds hosted by China, citing US "hostility." It has also rejected a US-led aid-for-disarmament plan and has instead been boasting about its nuclear prowess.
Hill said the US was not going to dictate terms with China on how to deal with North Korea.
China and South Korea have reportedly opposed US moves to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear arms, rejecting calls for sanctions or ceasing crucial economic aid, but Hill said they were united in wanting to disarm Pyongyang of its atomic weapons.
"We're not going to tell them [China] whether they need to use economic leverage on their neighbor. But we're going to expect that, as the host to the process, that they figure out a way to get everyone to the table," he said.
"While there are differences on tactics, where the Chinese are reluctant to use pressure and, Mr. Chairman, as you said, the South Koreans are also reluctant to use that type of direct pressure, I want to emphasize there's absolutely no daylight between us on the issue of disarming North Korea," he added.
Democratic Senator Barack Obama asked Hill if China could still be a "sufficient leverage point" in getting the hardline Stalinist state back to the six-party talks or whether the US needed to work through other channels.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a