China on North Korea's Nuclear Test Hint: "US Must Show Sincerity with Substantive Measures"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 20th, the Chinese government responded to North Korea's indication of resuming nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches by stating that the United States should show sincerity through practical measures.

According to Global Times, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing that "it has been repeatedly proven that imposing sanctions and pressure indiscriminately cannot resolve the Korean Peninsula issue," in response to a question about North Korea's announcement to consider resuming nuclear tests and ICBM launches.

Spokesperson Zhao emphasized that "(sanctions and pressure) only escalate tensions and do not align with the interests of any country," expressing hope that the United States would respond to North Korea's reasonable concerns with sincerity and practical actions. He added, "China appeals to all relevant parties to exercise restraint in words and actions, keeping in mind the trend of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," and "hopes to jointly work toward adhering to the correct direction of dialogue and negotiation and promoting a political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue."

The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held the 6th Political Bureau meeting of the 8th term with General Secretary Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss measures in response to the United States, reported the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on the same day. KCNA stated, "Instructions were issued to the relevant sectors to promptly review the full reconsideration of the confidence-building measures we had taken proactively and preliminarily, and to resume all activities that had been temporarily suspended."

This is interpreted as suggesting that North Korea may withdraw the moratorium on nuclear tests and ICBM launches declared in April 2018 at the Party plenary meeting, ahead of the inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits, after 3 years and 9 months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.