China reiterated its call for the United States and North Korea to resume peace talks as tensions between the two countries turned sour again most recently. The US and North Korea are at each other again as discussions over Pyongyang's nuclear stockpile fell through once again.
Beijing, through Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, and the US, through U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun met on Thursday. The two touched on about the best possible way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Biegun hoped that China could cooperate with the US in its goal of convincing Kim Jong Un to open the discussion again regarding the country's nuclear stockpile China is among the extremely few countries that North Korea trusts. Nothing has been achieved so far during the talks Thursday but both Lou and Biegun agreed to continue communicating about North Korea.
Political observers said it's a long shot if the US wants China to join its stance against North Korea. Indeed, China and Russia released a draft resolution requesting the UN Security Council to lift sanctions against Pyongyang. The two countries believed that North Korea already did its part when it agreed to reduce its stockpile in the previous years and therefore deserved to be rewarded with lifted sanctions.
Early this month North Korea declared that denuclearization was off the table, meaning that it will no longer engage in talks with the US or the UN about the issue. Tensions rose anew following the declaration since conflicts have already been brewing starting February when US President Donald Trump cut short a summit with the North Korean leader.
Kim Jong Un set an end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to negotiate denuclearization. If the West failed to relax stance, North Korea said the country should prepare for a "Christmas gift."
Political analysts, including MIT Professor Vipin Narang, have since been sounding off the alarm that Pyongyang may surprise the world with another test of its intercontinental ballistic missile. At the same time, a top US Air Force general said that the US has a prepared response if in case this is the case.
Indeed, on Saturday, North Korea announced it conducted a missile test successfully. This followed a similar test conducted on 7 Dec.
On Monday, in a meeting with South Korea, Biegun said the US still wants balanced agreements with North Korea. He said Washington hopes that Christmas could "usher in a season of peace."
