SEOUL: Chinese President Xi Jinping had a phone call with North Korean leader Needle That Jong Un Beijing willing to work with Pyongyang for world peace, North Korean state media said on Saturday.
The message from Xi came days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in one of its most powerful tests, declaring it would respond to its nuclear threats. America with its own nuclear weapons.
North Korea has conducted a record series of missile launches in recent weeks and there are growing concerns that the country is moving towards a seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017.
In his message to Kim, Xi said Beijing is willing to cooperate with North Korea for “peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world”, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.KCNA) report.
Mr. Xi said he was willing to cooperate with Pyongyang because “changes in the world, times and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways”, KCNA said, citing messages it said had received in response to congratulations from Mr. Kim after the meeting of the Communist Party of China. Congress last month awarded Xi a third term.
A few days before North Korea launched an ICBM, Xi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali with the US President. Joe Bidenwho voiced confidence that Beijing does not want to see Pyongyang escalate tensions further.
Washington has said it wants China, Pyongyang’s most important ally and economic benefactor, to use its influence to help contain North Korea.
The missile launch on November 18 appeared to be Pyongyang’s latest ICBM with a range that could hit the US mainland.
The United Nations Security Council convened an open meeting on the launch, involving the United States, Britain, France and India among 14 countries to “strongly condemn” Pyongyang’s actions.
But a Western diplomat told AFP that China and Russia chose not to include their names in Monday’s statement.
Earlier this month, the United States accused Beijing and Moscow of protecting Pyongyang from further sanctions.
In May, China and Russia vetoed a US-led effort to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to previous launches.
Pyongyang is already subject to numerous international sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and China accounts for more than 90% of the impoverished nation’s bilateral trade.
The message from Xi came days after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in one of its most powerful tests, declaring it would respond to its nuclear threats. America with its own nuclear weapons.
North Korea has conducted a record series of missile launches in recent weeks and there are growing concerns that the country is moving towards a seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017.
In his message to Kim, Xi said Beijing is willing to cooperate with North Korea for “peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world”, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.KCNA) report.
Mr. Xi said he was willing to cooperate with Pyongyang because “changes in the world, times and history are unfolding in unprecedented ways”, KCNA said, citing messages it said had received in response to congratulations from Mr. Kim after the meeting of the Communist Party of China. Congress last month awarded Xi a third term.
A few days before North Korea launched an ICBM, Xi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali with the US President. Joe Bidenwho voiced confidence that Beijing does not want to see Pyongyang escalate tensions further.
Washington has said it wants China, Pyongyang’s most important ally and economic benefactor, to use its influence to help contain North Korea.
The missile launch on November 18 appeared to be Pyongyang’s latest ICBM with a range that could hit the US mainland.
The United Nations Security Council convened an open meeting on the launch, involving the United States, Britain, France and India among 14 countries to “strongly condemn” Pyongyang’s actions.
But a Western diplomat told AFP that China and Russia chose not to include their names in Monday’s statement.
Earlier this month, the United States accused Beijing and Moscow of protecting Pyongyang from further sanctions.
In May, China and Russia vetoed a US-led effort to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to previous launches.
Pyongyang is already subject to numerous international sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and China accounts for more than 90% of the impoverished nation’s bilateral trade.
