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| Kerry pushes China on North Korea’s nukes | Kerry pushes China on North Korea’s nukes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BEIJING — Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Friday that China’s leaders told him that they were willing to put additional pressure on North Korea if it did not return to talks about abandoning its nuclear weapons program, but he acknowledged that Washington and Beijing took different approaches to the issue. | |
| On a tour though Asia, Kerry said he held a constructive meeting Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. He said he urged China to “use every tool at its disposal” to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. | On a tour though Asia, Kerry said he held a constructive meeting Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. He said he urged China to “use every tool at its disposal” to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. |
| But Washington-based China experts said Beijing was unlikely to push its longtime ally too far over the issue and remained unwilling to join a U.S.-led attempt to isolate the Pyongyang regime. | But Washington-based China experts said Beijing was unlikely to push its longtime ally too far over the issue and remained unwilling to join a U.S.-led attempt to isolate the Pyongyang regime. |
| Kerry was also using his trip to try to calm regional tensions. He signaled U.S. unhappiness with a series of assertive steps taken by Beijing in territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors, but he called on all sides to show restraint. | Kerry was also using his trip to try to calm regional tensions. He signaled U.S. unhappiness with a series of assertive steps taken by Beijing in territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors, but he called on all sides to show restraint. |
| At the same time, he discussed a range of issues with his Chinese hosts, he said, including climate change, human rights and Iran. But the issue of North Korea’s nuclear program topped the agenda. Kerry arrived in Beijing after visiting the South Korean capital, Seoul. | |
| North Korea “must take meaningful, concrete and irreversible steps toward verifiable denuclearization, and it needs to begin now,” Kerry said at a news conference. “China could not have been more emphatic, or made it more clear, that they will not allow a nuclear program over the long run, that they believe deeply in denuclearization, that denuclearization must occur, and that they are committed to doing their part to make that happen.” | North Korea “must take meaningful, concrete and irreversible steps toward verifiable denuclearization, and it needs to begin now,” Kerry said at a news conference. “China could not have been more emphatic, or made it more clear, that they will not allow a nuclear program over the long run, that they believe deeply in denuclearization, that denuclearization must occur, and that they are committed to doing their part to make that happen.” |
| Kerry said the two sides exchanged ideas on how to put more pressure on Pyongyang and that they would now evaluate each other’s proposals. But he acknowledged that China was deeply concerned about instability on the Korean Peninsula and preferred a path of diplomacy. | Kerry said the two sides exchanged ideas on how to put more pressure on Pyongyang and that they would now evaluate each other’s proposals. But he acknowledged that China was deeply concerned about instability on the Korean Peninsula and preferred a path of diplomacy. |
| While the United States wants to see North Korea take verifiable steps towards denuclearization before resuming talks, Beijing wants Washington to lower the threshold for talks and provide Pyongyang with some sort of security guarantee. China appears to want to encourage Pyongyang along the path it has followed, of economic opening and global engagement, leaving the issue of denuclearization as a longer-term goal. | While the United States wants to see North Korea take verifiable steps towards denuclearization before resuming talks, Beijing wants Washington to lower the threshold for talks and provide Pyongyang with some sort of security guarantee. China appears to want to encourage Pyongyang along the path it has followed, of economic opening and global engagement, leaving the issue of denuclearization as a longer-term goal. |
| The International Crisis Group said a sustained shift towards a sterner policy was unlikely any time soon, with China unwilling to do anything that could destabilize the regime. | The International Crisis Group said a sustained shift towards a sterner policy was unlikely any time soon, with China unwilling to do anything that could destabilize the regime. |
| “Because neither Beijing nor Washington desires a war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula that could draw them in, the two sides share the interests of managing Pyongyang’s behaviors and can cooperate on reining in North Korea’s belligerence and provocation,” said the Crisis Group’s Beijing-based analyst, Yanmei Xie. | “Because neither Beijing nor Washington desires a war breaking out on the Korean Peninsula that could draw them in, the two sides share the interests of managing Pyongyang’s behaviors and can cooperate on reining in North Korea’s belligerence and provocation,” said the Crisis Group’s Beijing-based analyst, Yanmei Xie. |
| “But on the fundamental issue of North Korea’s nuclear ambition, China is not yet ready to face the risks associated with denuclearization, which could threaten Beijing’s bottom lines: no instability, no regime change and no unification that could turn the entire Korean Peninsula into a U.S. ally.” | “But on the fundamental issue of North Korea’s nuclear ambition, China is not yet ready to face the risks associated with denuclearization, which could threaten Beijing’s bottom lines: no instability, no regime change and no unification that could turn the entire Korean Peninsula into a U.S. ally.” |
| But Wang Dong of the Center for Northeast Asian Strategic Studies at Peking University argued that criticism of China — for prioritizing stability over denuclearization — was oversimplified. | But Wang Dong of the Center for Northeast Asian Strategic Studies at Peking University argued that criticism of China — for prioritizing stability over denuclearization — was oversimplified. |
| “There has been a very important recalibration of China’s policy toward North Korea,” he said. “China has this twin goal of denuclearization and maintaining stability, and I'd argue that the new leadership [in China] has increasingly understood that without denuclearization, there will be no durable stability. They are now willing to put more pressure to North Korea, especially after the third nuclear test or if North Korea displays further provocative and irresponsible behavior down the road.” | “There has been a very important recalibration of China’s policy toward North Korea,” he said. “China has this twin goal of denuclearization and maintaining stability, and I'd argue that the new leadership [in China] has increasingly understood that without denuclearization, there will be no durable stability. They are now willing to put more pressure to North Korea, especially after the third nuclear test or if North Korea displays further provocative and irresponsible behavior down the road.” |
| Since the 2011 death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the elevation of his son, Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang has issued a string of bellicose statements and taken provocative actions, including a nuclear test last year that drew international condemnation. Analysts say signs in recent weeks suggest the renegade country may be on the verge of new missile and nuclear tests. | Since the 2011 death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the elevation of his son, Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang has issued a string of bellicose statements and taken provocative actions, including a nuclear test last year that drew international condemnation. Analysts say signs in recent weeks suggest the renegade country may be on the verge of new missile and nuclear tests. |
| Kerry said no country had greater potential to put pressure on North Korea than China, although experts say Beijing’s influence appears to have waned somewhat. | Kerry said no country had greater potential to put pressure on North Korea than China, although experts say Beijing’s influence appears to have waned somewhat. |
| Early last year, after North Korea ignored its pleas to avoid the nuclear test, China began showing signs of frustration. But that outspokenness has since died down, especially after Kim Jong Un’s dramatic purge of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek. Jang, Kim’s most prominent adviser and his reputed point-man for relations with China, was executed in December. | Early last year, after North Korea ignored its pleas to avoid the nuclear test, China began showing signs of frustration. But that outspokenness has since died down, especially after Kim Jong Un’s dramatic purge of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek. Jang, Kim’s most prominent adviser and his reputed point-man for relations with China, was executed in December. |
| On Thursday, Kerry was briefed by South Korean leaders on a rare diplomatic breakthrough between North and South Korea. | On Thursday, Kerry was briefed by South Korean leaders on a rare diplomatic breakthrough between North and South Korea. |
| For the first time in seven years, the two Koreas held high-level talks Wednesday on their armed border. They agreed to stop insulting each other and, for the first time in three years, to go ahead next week with planned reunions of families divided by the Korean War, despite a dispute over upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills. | |
| This is Kerry’s fifth trip to Asia in his first year in office, but he has still to shake off a perception in some quarters he is more interested in the Middle East than in this part of the world. | This is Kerry’s fifth trip to Asia in his first year in office, but he has still to shake off a perception in some quarters he is more interested in the Middle East than in this part of the world. |
| The Obama administration says it wants to refocus American foreign policy on the Asia-Pacific, but that strategic rebalance has become something of a headache lately because of rising tensions between Japan and China, centered on territorial dispute about a chain of small, rocky islands. | The Obama administration says it wants to refocus American foreign policy on the Asia-Pacific, but that strategic rebalance has become something of a headache lately because of rising tensions between Japan and China, centered on territorial dispute about a chain of small, rocky islands. |
| Last November, China declared an air defense identification zone over much of the East China Sea, including over those islands, which are administered by Japan. The United States saw that move as raising the risk of miscalculations and accidents that could spark a military conflict. | Last November, China declared an air defense identification zone over much of the East China Sea, including over those islands, which are administered by Japan. The United States saw that move as raising the risk of miscalculations and accidents that could spark a military conflict. |
| At the same time, China’s patrol vessels have kept a regular presence around the disputed islands, while its naval ships have also stepped up their presence in the South China Sea. | At the same time, China’s patrol vessels have kept a regular presence around the disputed islands, while its naval ships have also stepped up their presence in the South China Sea. |
| While China has portrayed the rebalance as a thinly veiled attempt to contain its rising power, U.S. allies worry that an Obama administration distracted by domestic politics or by other international crises has struggled to back up its rhetoric with a firm and consistent commitment to the region, which was scarcely mentioned in the State of the Union address. | While China has portrayed the rebalance as a thinly veiled attempt to contain its rising power, U.S. allies worry that an Obama administration distracted by domestic politics or by other international crises has struggled to back up its rhetoric with a firm and consistent commitment to the region, which was scarcely mentioned in the State of the Union address. |
| China experts in Washington say the administration has also been perceived as sending mixed signals to Beijing, and some argue that Beijing has exploited what it perceives as weakness in Washington by becoming even more assertive. | China experts in Washington say the administration has also been perceived as sending mixed signals to Beijing, and some argue that Beijing has exploited what it perceives as weakness in Washington by becoming even more assertive. |
| In what seemed like an attempt to correct that perception, U.S. officials have ventured some unusually strong criticism of China’s actions this year. | In what seemed like an attempt to correct that perception, U.S. officials have ventured some unusually strong criticism of China’s actions this year. |
| “Five years in, the Obama administration appears to have learned the lesson of business in China. The nicer and more accommodating you are, the more you get played, sadly,” tweeted Bill Bishop, editor of the influential Sinocism newsletter, on Friday. | “Five years in, the Obama administration appears to have learned the lesson of business in China. The nicer and more accommodating you are, the more you get played, sadly,” tweeted Bill Bishop, editor of the influential Sinocism newsletter, on Friday. |
| Beijing has responded by dismissing that U.S. criticism angrily. It blames Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for heightened tensions and was particularly angry in December when Abe visited to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where 14 war criminals from World War II are honored | Beijing has responded by dismissing that U.S. criticism angrily. It blames Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for heightened tensions and was particularly angry in December when Abe visited to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where 14 war criminals from World War II are honored |
| On Friday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said that rather than blaming China, the United States must pressure Tokyo to cease its “provocative moves” — or risk a regional conflict in the future. | On Friday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said that rather than blaming China, the United States must pressure Tokyo to cease its “provocative moves” — or risk a regional conflict in the future. |
| The imposition of China’s air defense zone appeared to have been a watershed moment in stiffening Washington’s resolve, experts said, especially as it was announced just before a visit to Beijing by Vice President Biden. | The imposition of China’s air defense zone appeared to have been a watershed moment in stiffening Washington’s resolve, experts said, especially as it was announced just before a visit to Beijing by Vice President Biden. |
| Kerry said the Chinese side complained that others were responsible for raising tensions over competing territorial claims. But he said any further Chinese moves, particularly on any future air defense zones, should be conducted in an “open, transparent, accountable way.” | Kerry said the Chinese side complained that others were responsible for raising tensions over competing territorial claims. But he said any further Chinese moves, particularly on any future air defense zones, should be conducted in an “open, transparent, accountable way.” |