Beijing, China. In an interesting breaking development in the North Korean missile standoff, China has now told the Americans to remove their missiles from South Korea and for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The Chinese government called today for the immediate removal of a controversial missile defence system hours after Washington confirmed the shield was now operational in South Korea.
“China’s position is clear-cut and firm. We oppose the deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea and urge relevant sides to immediately stop the deployment. We will firmly take necessary measures to uphold our interests,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at the daily foreign media briefing.
American leaders in Washington and South Koreans in Seoul had agreed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system deployment in the wake of a string of North Korean missile tests.
The Chinese press spokesperson Geng also expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s comments that he would consider meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Trump stated Monday he would be “honored” to meet Kim under the right conditions, dialling down earlier threats of military action.
“China has always believed that dialogue and consultation… is the only realistic and viable way to achieve denuclearization,” Geng said.
“We also said many times that the US and DPRK… should make political decisions at an early date, take action and show good faith so that we can create a better atmosphere for resuming the peace talks and settling the issue,” he added.