Beijing, China. Amid reports China is massing troops near the North Korean border, new calls from China to North Korea are being heard. The message is one not likely to take hold as the Chinese ask Kim Jong-Un to give up his nuclear weapons program in exchange for Chinese guarantees of North Korean territorial integrity.
American military force cannot resolve tension over North Korea, China said on Thursday, while an influential Chinese newspaper urged the North to halt its nuclear program in exchange for Chinese protection.
As a US Navy aircraft carrier battle group steams to the area and tension rising, South Korea said it believed the United States would consult it before any pre-emptive strike against the North. Fears have been growing that North Korea could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of UN sanctions and stark warnings from the United States that a policy of patience was over.
In China, national leaders called upon all sides to avoid violence, “Military force cannot resolve the issue.” Adding, “Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks.” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced in Beijing.
The US President Donald Trump has put North Korea on notice that he would not tolerate any provocation, American officials have said the administration was focusing its strategy on tougher economic sanctions.
Donald Trump announced on Twitter his call with Xi was a “very good” discussion of the “menace of North Korea”. He said later on Wednesday the United States was prepared to tackle the crisis without China, if necessary.
Trump has ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group towards the Korean peninsula, which could take more than a week to arrive, in a show of force aimed at deterring North Korea from conducting another nuclear test or launching more missiles to coincide with important events and anniversaries.
The Chinese Foreign Minister warned that history would hold any instigator to account,”Whoever provokes the situation, whoever continues to make trouble in this place, they will have to assume historical responsibility,” Wang said.
On Tuesday, North Korea warned of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression. The North is technically at war with the United States and South Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, and not with a peace treaty.