New US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the need to sustain sanctions pressure on Pyongyang, as he held talks yesterday in Seoul that focused on North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.
Blinken’s arrival in South Korea was presaged by a series of North Korean missile tests, reflecting escalating military tensions on the divided peninsula ahead of large-scale US-South Korea military drills next month.
Following talks with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yong, Blinken said that international sanctions on North Korea had made a “meaningful difference” to its ability to acquire materials for its weapons and missiles programs.
North Korea is already subject to a raft of US and UN sanctions over its arms program, but some critics insist the measures have failed to stop Pyongyang pushing ahead with its nuclear and missile development.
US President Barack Obama imposed fresh sanctions last month following a damaging cyberattack on Hollywood studio Sony Pictures that Washington blamed on Pyongyang.
And US lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would widen sanctions by imposing harsher penalties on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang.
Embarking on a three-nation tour that will also take him to China and Japan, Blinken said the US was still open to negotiating with the North, but only if it showed a tangible commitment to denuclearization.
“And until the North Koreans demonstrate that they are serious, it is important to sustain the pressure on them,” he said.
The North test-fired five short-range missiles into the sea as Blinken arrived in Seoul on Sunday, and the day before it had trumpeted the test of a new “ultra-precision” anti-ship cruise missile under the watchful eye of leader Kim Jong-Un.
North Korea often test-fires missiles and rockets to coincide with high-profile visits to the rival South, and at times of military tension.
Next month sees the launch of annual joint exercises by the US and South Korean military, which regularly see North-South relations go into a vertiginous tail-spin.
Pyongyang views the drills as provocative rehearsals for invasion, while Seoul and Washington insist they are defensive in nature.
Last month, North Korea had offered to suspend any further nuclear test if this year’s joint exercises were canceled — a proposal the US Department of State described as a “non-starter.”
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests — most recently in February 2013 — and its moratorium offer was seen in Washington as an “implicit threat” to carry out a fourth.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese