[The
Pentagon sent a Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier
toward the Korean Peninsula over the weekend to “maintain readiness” amid
concerns that North Korea could be preparing for more missile launches and a
sixth nuclear test.]
By Simon Denyer
 |
|
President Trump and
Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen recently at Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm
Beach, Fla., spoke early Wednesday about
the crisis on the Korean
Peninsula. (Jim Watson/Agence
France-Presse via Getty
Images)
|
BEIJING
— During a telephone call
early Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged President Trump to find a
peaceful solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported.
The call came just four days after the
leaders held face-to-face talks in Florida and hours after Trump tweeted that
North Korea was “looking for trouble” and that the United States would “solve
the problem” with or without China’s help.
The People’s Daily, the official Communist
Party mouthpiece, said Xi thanked Trump for his “warm hospitality” in Florida
but also took the opportunity to discuss “common concerns” about the Korean
Peninsula and warn against any military escalation of the situation.
“Xi Jinping stressed that China insists on
realizing the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula, insists on maintaining
peace and stability on the peninsula, advocates resolving the problem through
peaceful means and is willing to maintain communication and coordination with
the U.S. side on the issue of the peninsula,” the paper wrote.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs weighed in
soon afterward.
“All relevant parties should exercise
restraint and keep calm, ease the tension instead of provoking each other and
adding fuel to the fire,” spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news conference.
Lu said Xi had placed the phone call, at
Trump’s request.
Trump later described the exchange in
positive terms. “Had a very good call last night with the President of China
concerning the menace of North Korea,” he tweeted.
The Pentagon sent a Navy strike group led by
the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier toward the Korean Peninsula over the
weekend to “maintain readiness” amid concerns that North Korea could be
preparing for more missile launches and a sixth nuclear test.
The Carl Vinson is accompanied by a carrier
air wing, a guided-missile cruiser and two destroyers, a group Trump described
to Fox Business Network as “an armada, very powerful.”
According to Chinese state media, Xi said
that he and Trump had “enhanced mutual understanding” and established a good
working relationship. On Syria, Xi said that “any uses of chemical weapons are
unacceptable” and voiced the need for a political settlement there, as well as
“solidarity” and unanimity at the U.N. Security Council, the media said.
But Lü Chao, a North Korea expert at the
Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said the situation on the Korean Peninsula
appeared to top the agenda, warning that the U.S. carrier group’s move to
nearby waters had led to a “very serious standoff.”
“The concerned parties should really signal
red lights and hit the brakes to defuse the situation,” Lü said. “Otherwise, it
would be very easy for this to accidentally turn into a conflict.”
Pyongyang has also raised the stakes by
warning that it could “hit the U.S. first” with nuclear weapons.
“Our military is keeping an eye on the
movement of enemy forces while putting them in our nuclear sights,” said Rodong
Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party, adding that North Korea
will use its “mighty nuclear weapons” to “obliterate” the United States.
While China continues to call for dialogue
and a peaceful settlement of the crisis, it has also shown signs of growing
impatience with North Korea.
On Monday, a senior South Korean official
said that China had agreed to toughen sanctions on the North, through a
stronger U.N. resolution, if it carries out nuclear or long-range missile
tests.
However, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy,
Kim Hong-kyun, said there was no mention of a military option in his talks with
China’s envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs, Wu Dawei, nor had the two discussed
the possibility of a strike by the United States.
U.S. officials have stressed that stronger
sanctions are likely to come first but that military options are not off the
table. Experts say a U.S. military strike remains unlikely, though, partly
because it is not clear what the target would be and partly because North Korea
would probably respond with a devastating attack on the South Korean capital,
Seoul.
On Tuesday, China’s state-run Global Times
newspaper urged Pyongyang to stop its nuclear and missile program for its own
security, arguing that a sixth nuclear test or inter-continental ballistic
missile test would be seen as a “slap in the face” of the U.S. government and
increase the chances of U.S. military action.
“Not only is Washington brimming with
confidence and arrogance following the missile attacks on Syria, but Trump is
also willing to be regarded as a man who honors his promises,” the paper wrote.
“Pyongyang should avoid making mistakes at this time.”
Global Times editorials do not represent
official government policy, but they often reflect thinking within the
Communist Party.
The paper also said that China would seek
stronger action by the U.N. Security Council if North Korea continues to
conduct tests.
“If the North makes another provocative move
this month, Chinese society will be willing to see the UNSC adopt severe
restrictive measures that have never been seen before, such as restricting oil
imports to the North,” the paper said.
North Korea is expected to hold a huge
military parade Saturday to celebrate the 105th birthday of its founding
president, Kim Il Sung, and to mark with similar fanfare the 85th anniversary
of the creation of the Korean People’s Army on April 25.
Luna Lin and Jin Xin contributed to this
report.
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