China has come to the realization that it has limited time to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile program through negotiations, and is open to further sanctions against Pyongyang, a senior US Department of State official said yesterday.
Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, US Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton said China understood that the US viewed the North Korea situation as an urgent “time-limited problem set.”
“So they know now that they don’t have, I think, as much time to try to bring the North Koreans to the table to get their calculus changed and get them to the negotiating table,” she said. “I think that has lent some urgency to their measures.”
Pyongyang has conducted dozens of missile tests, the latest on Sunda, and tested two nuclear bombs since the start of last year, in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
It says the program is necessary to counter US aggression.
Thornton said the US was looking at discussing with China a new UN Security Council resolution on prenegotiated measures to reduce delays in any response to further nuclear tests or other provocations from the North.
While China believes sanctions against North Korea “don’t work overnight,” Thornton said there were no indications that Beijing had gone cold on potentially implementing more of them against Pyongyang.
“Their calculus about how much pressure to impose on North Korea is related to their tolerance for potential instability, which is low, I would say,” she said.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on Wednesday said no one had the right to bring chaos to the Korean Peninsula, a day after Beijing pushed for full implementation of UN sanctions and called for dialogue.
The North has proudly publicized its plans to develop a missile capable of striking the US and has ignored calls to halt its weapons programs, even from ally China.
Even as Washington seeks greater Chinese cooperation on North Korea, a US navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles (22.2km) of Mischief Reef (Meiji Reef, 美濟礁) in the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which Taiwan also claims, officials said on Wednesday, the first such maneuver since US President Donald Trump took office.
It prompted an angry response from Beijing, which accused the US of jeopardizing an easing of tension between China and other claimants in the South China Sea — Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Thornton said Washington’s policy on the South China Sea had not changed under Trump and that it remained supportive of the diplomatic processes under way.
“It doesn’t mean we are going to change our military presence or our security commitments in the region,” she said. “Those need to stay and they need to be there, and that will give confidence to the diplomatic process, we think.”
Freedom of navigation operations were not the central part of US policy in the South China Sea, “but to the extent that we continue to do it, we don’t shy away from doing it, that’s a continuation,” she said.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday accused Harvard University of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students, and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top US universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.” Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti-conservative bias and anti-Semitism. In a letter sent to the president of Harvard, a federal task
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
RSS