US envoy urges China �leadership� in sanctioning North Korea

AFP, SEOUL: Calling North Korea the greatest source of instability in Asia, a top US diplomat urged China on Wednesday to “show leadership” in international efforts to sanction Pyongyang following its fourth nuclear test.
US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who was in Seoul on a two-day visit, noted China had a particular role to play given its “special relationship” with its reclusive neighbour.
Blinken will meet with Chinese diplomats in Beijing on Thursday, ahead of a scheduled trip to China by US Secretary of State John Kerry next week, as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Beijing.
“We are looking to China to show leadership on the issue,” Blinken said, after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se.
China is North Korea’s chief diplomatic protector and economic benefactor, but traditional ties have become strained as Beijing’s patience has worn thin with Pyongyang’s behaviour and unwillingness to rein in its nuclear weapons ambitions.

 

US envoy urges China �leadership� in sanctioning North Korea

AFP, SEOUL: Calling North Korea the greatest source of instability in Asia, a top US diplomat urged China on Wednesday to show leadership in international efforts to sanction Pyongyang following its fourth nuclear test. US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who was in Seoul on a two-day visit, noted China had a particular role to play given its special relationship with its reclusive neighbour. Blinken will meet with Chinese diplomats in Beijing on Thursday, ahead of a scheduled trip to China by US Secretary of State John Kerry next week, as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Beijing. We are looking to China to show leadership on the issue, Blinken said, after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se. China is North Koreas chief diplomatic protector and economic benefactor, but traditional ties have become strained as Beijings patience has worn thin with Pyongyangs behaviour and unwillingness to rein in its nuclear weapons ambitions.