China has threatened to impose sanctions on North Korea if it conducts further nuclear tests, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday.
“We know that China is in communications with the regime in Pyongyang,” Tillerson said on Fox News Channel. “They confirmed to us that they had requested the regime conduct no further nuclear test.”
Tillerson said China also told the US that it had informed North Korea “that if they did conduct further nuclear tests, China would be taking sanctions actions on their own.”
Photo: AP
Earlier on Thursday, the senior US Navy officer overseeing military operations in the Pacific said the crisis with North Korea is at the worst point he has ever seen, but he declined to compare the situation to the Cuban missile crisis decades ago.
“It’s real,” US Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, said during testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
Harris said he has no doubt that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un intends to fulfill his pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the US.
Harris said there is uncertainty within US intelligence agencies over how far along North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are.
However, it is not a matter of if, but when, Harris said.
“There is no doubt in my mind,” he said.
Harris said he has adequate forces to “fight tonight” against North Korea if that were to become necessary.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment on Tillerson’s remarks on new sanctions, but a spokesman said Beijing remained committed to implementing sanctions imposed under UN Security Council resolutions.
“The reason that China implements relevant resolutions is to fulfill our due international obligation rather than being pressured by any outside parties,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) told a daily news conference.
China has consistently called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, but says it opposes unilateral sanctions imposed without a UN mandate.
China in January suspended coal imports from the North for the rest of the year, but it did so following the passage of a UN Security Council resolution capping Pyongyang’s coal exports.
Other economic activity with North Korea remains robust.
Still, Beijing has been increasing pressure on North Korea and would be willing to impose punitive measures unilaterally in the event of another nuclear test, Renmin University associate professor of international relations Cheng Xiaohe (成曉河) said.
“So Tillerson’s comments are correct — but be careful, China does so for China’s national interest, not as a result of US pressure,” Cheng said
The Trump administration has declared that all options, including a targeted military strike, are on the table to block North Korea from carrying out threats against the US and its allies in the region.
However, a pre-emptive attack is not likely, US officials have said, and the administration is pursuing a strategy of putting pressure on Pyongyang with assistance from China, North Korea’s main trading partner and the country’s economic lifeline.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS