This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/world/asia/kerry-in-china-seeking-help-on-north-korea.html

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Kerry Seeks China’s Help In Defusing Korea Tensions To Woo China, Kerry Proposes A Missile Deal
(about 3 hours later)
BEIJING — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if steps are taken to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a statement intended to elicit China’s help in persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. BEIJING — Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea.
The United States is also hoping China could push North Korea to back away from recent threats that have dramatically raised tensions on the peninsula. In a news conference following meetings with China’s top leaders, Mr. Kerry said that the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Kerry’s comments followed a series of meetings with China’s top leadership and implicitly acknowledged that recent American steps to beef up its defenses against the North were causing discomfort in China.  Mr. Kerry’s overture appeared aimed at addressing Chinese concerns that North Korea’s provocative actions were leading the United States to build up military strength in the region as China is boosting its own influence there.
“On missile defense, we discussed absolutely why we are taking the steps we are taking,” Mr. Kerry said, referring to efforts the United States is taking to defend Guam, Hawaii and American allies in Asia against a potential North Korean missile attack.  “On missile defense, we discussed absolutely why we have taken the steps that we have taken,” Mr. Kerry said, referring to efforts the United States is taking to defend Guam, Hawaii and the United States’ allies in Asia against a potential North Korean missile attack. The United States has dispatched two ships capable of missile defense and said it will speed up land-based missile defenses for Guam.
“Now obviously if the threat disappears — i.e. North Korea denuclearizes — the same imperative does not exist at that point of time for us to have that kind of robust, forward-leaning posture of defense,” Mr. Kerry added. “And it would be our hope in the long run, or better yet in short run, that we can address that.” “Now obviously if the threat disappears — i.e. North Korea denuclearizes — the same imperative does not exist at that point of time for us to have that kind of robust forward leaning posture of defense,” he added. “And it would be our hope in the long run, or better yet in short run, that we can address that.”
China in the past has provided only limited help to the United States in trying to rein in North Korea. Mr. Kerry’s offer to cut back on the newly fortified missile defenses appeared to be part of a diplomatic strategy to get China, the North’s only true ally, to do what it has long resisted — to crack down hard enough on Pyongyang that its leaders will give up an increasingly sophisticated nuclear program.
Earlier in the day, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, renewed a pledge to encourage the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That promise reflected China’s longstanding position, and it remains to be seen how hard China will push its allies in North Korea. In the past, China has worried that any move to destabilize the North would lead to a collapse of the regime and deliver the entire peninsula to the United States’ sphere of influence, possibly bringing American troops in South Korea closer to its border.
Mr. Wang’s comments came at a particularly delicate time, however, as North Korea has amped up threats to the United States and South Korea following the imposition of United Nations sanctions to punish the North for a nuclear test. The foreign minister’s remarks reflected China’s growing concern over North Korea’s efforts to expand its nuclear program — and over its providing a reason for the United States to build its military standing in the region. China remains a linchpin to the Obama administration’s policy of holding a tough line on Pyongyang, a reversal from the past. Previous administrations used aid to mollify the North and gain concessions on its nuclear program, only to see the North’s promises evaporate once the aid had been delivered.
North Korea, under its new leader, Kim Jong-un, has proclaimed itself a “nuclear state” and conducted its third nuclear test. Analysts believe North Korea is also poised to launch a medium-range Musudan missile as a test. Mr. Kerry said the Chinese shared the American goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, though he declined to say what steps China said it would take to accomplish it.
Mr. Kerry said in his remarks that the United States had shared “a very in-depth disc” illustrating the danger that a nuclear North Korea could promote the proliferation of nuclear arms in Asia and the Middle East. Even if China were to take a harsher stance, North Korea might not fall into line. Under the new leader, Kim Jong-un, the North has snubbed China several times, including refusing Chinese entreaties to cancel its recent nuclear test that set off tensions on the Peninsula.
“China and the United States must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” Mr. Kerry said. “And today we agreed that further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal.” Mr. Kerry’s remarks are likely to stir concern among staunch advocates of missile defense in the United States, who also see anti-missile systems as a means of responding to China’s growing military might.
North Korea’s apparent determination to expand its nuclear weapons program and the American demand that it commit up front to eventually relinquishing its nuclear arms have raised the question of whether there is any basis for negotiations. At the core of the issue is the United States’ inability to draw North Korea into a serious round of nuclear talks. North Korea’s apparent determination to expand its nuclear weapons program and the American demand that it commit up front to eventually relinquishing its nuclear arms have raised the question of whether there is even any basis for negotiations.
Even before arriving in Beijing, it was clear that Mr. Kerry’s strategy for persuading North Korea to cooperate depends heavily on China’s support. “China has an enormous ability to help make a difference here,” Mr. Kerry said on Friday during a stop in Seoul, adding that he planned in meetings with Chinese leaders to “lay out a path ahead that can defuse this tension.”
“China has an enormous ability to help make a difference here,” Mr. Kerry said on Friday, adding that he planned in meetings with Chinese leaders to “lay out a path ahead that can defuse this tension.” But the Chinese stance on North Korea has never been a simple one. On the one hand, the Chinese prize stability and are eager to avoid a crisis on the Korean Peninsula that would spawn a flood of refugees or prompt the United States to shift more forces to the Pacific.
In his meetings on Saturday, Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Wang as well as President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Following Mr. Kim’s recent boasts about North Korea’s ability to carry out military strikes, the Obama administration decided to speed up the deployment of missile defenses to Guam and sent Aegis cruisers equipped with anti-missile systems into the region. It also conducted a military exercise in which B-2 bombers flew to South Korea before returning to their base in the United states, and it briefly deployed two F-22 fighters in South Korea as well.
“This is a critical moment,” Mr. Kerry said at the start of his Saturday meeting with Mr. Wang, adding that he hoped “two great powers, China and the United States, can work effectively to solve problems.” On the other hand, that same Chinese concern for stability has meant that it is reluctant to take steps that would undermine the North Korean government’s hold on power and eliminate a friendly buffer between Chinese territory and South Korean and American forces.
As tensions have risen in recent weeks amid North Korean threats, the United States has said it would move missile defenses to Guam and dispatched Aegis cruisers equipped with missile defense systems to the region. In an effort to solicit China’s help, Mr. Kerry met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.
Bonnie Glaser, an expert on China at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the Chinese were frustrated with North Korea and were taking some actions, such as cracking down on the flow of illicit North Korean funds through Chinese banks, that were not visible in the West. Mr. Wang said at a dinner with Mr. Kerry on Saturday night that China was committed to “the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula.” But the Chinese foreign minister also stressed that the “issue should be handled and resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultation.”
At the same time, she noted, the Chinese have little desire to publicize what they are doing. To encourage the Chinese to deal with the North Korean nuclear problem, Mr. Kerry said that he had shared “a very in-depth disc” illustrating the danger of how a nuclear North Korea could promote the proliferation of nuclear arms in Asia and the Middle East.
But the Chinese seem to be irritated as well with the American response to North Korea’s moves, such as sending B-2 bombers to South Korea as part of a military exercise. Mr. Kerry said his aim was to find a way to revive the goals of the six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program, which have been stalled since 2009 when North Korea withdrew. The talks have included North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the United States.
The state-run news agency Xinhua accused the Obama administration of “fanning the flames” in the North Korean situation. Mr. Kerry also portrayed cooperation on North Korea as just one element of a “model partnership” the United States hoped to build with China on diplomatic, economic and environmental issues.
“It keeps sending more fighter bombers and missile defense ships to the waters of East Asia and carrying out massive military drills with Asian allies in a dramatic display of pre-emptive power,” the agency said Saturday. Mr. Kerry said there would be additional discussions in the weeks ahead with the Chinese on North Korea that would involve American intelligence experts: Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and William Burns, the Deputy Secretary of State.
The two sides also called on North Korea to refrain from provocations, an allusion to a potential missile test that the South Korean government has said could come at any time.
Bonnie S. Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the Chinese government was very frustrated with Mr. Kim’s behavior and was taking some actions, such as cracking down on the flow of illicit North Korean funds through Chinese banks. She said China had no desire to publicize such moves.
At the same time, she noted, the Chinese were very unhappy with American actions, including the flight of the B-2 bombers to South Korea, fearing the moves would further incite the North.
The United States “keeps sending more fighter bombers and missile defense ships to the waters of East Asia and carrying out massive military drills with Asian allies in a dramatic display of pre-emptive power,” the state-run news agency Xinhua said Saturday.

Jane Perlez contributed reporting.

Jane Perlez contributed reporting.