Shin Beom-chul "China retaliating against Korea? When did they ever block sanctions on North Korea..."

Shin Beom-chul, Deputy Minister of National Defense, pointed out that regarding China's backlash against the 'Washington Declaration,' "(China) just needs to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons," suggesting that the Washington Declaration is partly a consequence China brought upon itself.

On the 2nd, Deputy Minister Shin said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "In fact, China could have prevented this situation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

China is reacting sensitively to the Washington Declaration. China's state-run 'Global Times' criticized the Washington Declaration as an extremely dangerous and provocative act against China, Russia, and North Korea, claiming that retaliation from North Korea, China, and Russia could become a 'nightmare' for South Korea and President Yoon Suk-yeol.

However, Deputy Minister Shin explained that the Washington Declaration is a result of China's failure to properly block North Korea's nuclear program. He said, "In fact, after the 2018 inter-Korean summit and the North Korea-China summit, even if North Korea conducts intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, who is stopping new sanctions?" and added, "China has expressed its intention to exercise veto power and is blocking sanctions, which has led to the further advancement of the North Korean nuclear threat."

He continued, "Therefore, what China should do now for peace in Northeast Asia and the international community is simply to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons," adding, "Then these issues can be resolved one by one, and the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has repeatedly emphasized that if it presents a bold plan to the North and they return to denuclearization, any cooperation is possible."

Deputy Minister Shin said, "Thus, the diplomatic policy direction China must choose is to achieve North Korean denuclearization, ease tensions in Northeast Asia, and thereby play a role in shaping the international order China envisions," adding, "Personally, I hope China focuses more on that direction."

When asked by the host whether Japanese Prime Minister Kishida’s earlier-than-scheduled visit to South Korea is related to nuclear consultations between South Korea and the U.S., he replied, "It is difficult for government officials to discuss such specific details," but added, "I want to indirectly say that Japan is also reading the overall flow of the international situation."

Some analysts suggest that Japan might join the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), potentially forming a South Korea-U.S.-Japan nuclear consultative group. Regarding this, Deputy Minister Shin said, "That is too early to discuss," adding, "Right now, we are discussing with the U.S. how to concretize extended deterrence in relation to the North Korean nuclear threat."

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