United Nations, 3 Mar (ZXS) -- Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a public meeting of the Security Council on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue on 20 March that China is concerned about the intensification of tension on the Korean Peninsula. The international community should face up to the crux of the Korean Peninsula issue, draw lessons from history, and persistently promote the political settlement of the issue.
On March 3, local time, the United Nations Security Council held an open meeting on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The picture shows the meeting site. Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Fan
On the same day, Yan Cha, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, gave a briefing. Yancha said North Korea has conducted a series of missile launches in recent days, including the Hwasong-16 intercontinental ballistic missile launched on the 17th, which the country described as part of a simulated nuclear counterattack exercise. In 2022, North Korea conducted about 70 ballistic missile launches, and in 2023, it has already launched 14. The situation on the peninsula continues to develop in the wrong direction. To reduce tensions and break the diplomatic impasse, the Council must be united.
Geng Shuang said in his speech: At present, the tension on the Korean Peninsula has intensified and confrontation has increased, and China is concerned about this. The situation on the peninsula has developed so far, and there is a reason for this. The DPRK made positive moves in 2018 to exchange denuclearization for security, but the United States did not respond in good faith in accordance with the principle of "action for action", resulting in a missed important opportunity to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Since the beginning of this year, the United States and other countries have continued to hold joint military exercises of unprecedented scale on the peninsula and its surrounding areas, and plan to increase the deployment of strategic weapons. The latest statement of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stressed that the relevant actions of the DPRK are "countermeasures taken in response to hostile activities of the United States."
Geng Shuang said that the international community should face up to the crux of the Korean Peninsula issue, draw lessons from history, and persistently promote the political settlement of the issue. He also stressed three points: First, all parties should exercise restraint, show goodwill to each other, explore ways to break the situation in a peaceful, calm and stable state, strive to form a benign interaction, and gradually build mutual trust. Second, China supports the Security Council in playing a constructive role in promoting a political settlement. Third, while the United States is demanding that the DPRK abandon its nuclear weapons under the banner of non-proliferation, it has transferred several tons of weapons-grade enriched uranium to non-nuclear-weapon States.
Geng Shuang said: China calls on certain countries to listen to the voice of the international community and regional countries, abandon the Cold War mentality and bloc politics, stop political manipulation, earnestly fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation obligations, revoke the decision to cooperate on nuclear submarines, and set the correct direction for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue with concrete actions. China calls on all parties concerned to uphold the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, shoulder their due responsibilities and resolve their legitimate concerns in a balanced manner through meaningful dialogue to achieve common security. China will continue to make efforts and contributions to promoting the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue in accordance with the "dual-track" approach and the principle of phased and simultaneous progress. (End)