Chinese foreign minister hints at new UN resolution over DPRK nuclear test

World Today

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) prepares to shake hands with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the end of a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on January 27, 2016. North Korea’s nuclear programme is a “major challenge to global security”, US Secretary of State John Kerry told his Chinese counterpart on January 27, urging Beijing to increase pressure following its wayward neighbour’s latest atomic test. AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that Beijing is committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while urging all relevant parties to resolve the issue through the six-party talks.

He made the remarks on Wednesday at a joint press conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing.

Wang Yi said that he and Secretary Kerry had an “in-depth” exchange of views on Pyongyang’s recent nuclear test. “The test violated U.N.’s resolution and the Security Council needs to pass a new resolution to address the issue,” Wang said.

He added that the “DPRK’s nuclear test should only be resolved through negotiations and dialogue, and the new resolution should not provoke new tensions in the region.”

Speaking about the recent elections in Taiwan, Wang said that Taiwan was a core issue in China-U.S. ties, and urged the U.S. to stick to the “one-China” policy and oppose Taiwan’s independence.

Kerry arrived in China after stops in Laos and Cambodia, where he failed to convince the two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to present a united front in dealing with the South China Sea disputes.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said the country hopes to settle the disputes bilaterally.

“Individual countries should settle disputes among themselves without the involvement of ASEAN,” he said, adding that ASEAN was not a party to territorial disputes.

Speaking on Wednesday, the Chinese foreign minister reiterated China’s sovereignty in the waters and called for any disputes to be settled peacefully.

Wang said that during his talks with Kerry, the two sides also touched on issues ranging from trade, counter-terrorism, extraditing fugitives and military exchanges to climate change.

Story by CCTV NEWS.