U.S. Welcomes China, Russia Moves in North Korea Crisis
The White House on Monday welcomed efforts by Russia and China to ease the crisis with North Korea, after pushing both nations to use their influence to change the isolated state's behavior.
"We welcome efforts by Beijing and Moscow to encourage Pyongyang to refrain from provocative rhetoric and threats," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"We will continue to work with our Chinese, Russian and other partners to get North Korea to abide by its international obligations," Carney said.
Washington last week urged China and Russia to use their influence to halt a series of bellicose actions and statements from North Korea under its untested new leader Kim Jong-Un, which have sent regional tensions soaring.
The New York Times reported late Friday that Washington had pressured China's new President Xi Jinping to crack down on Kim's regime, or face an increased U.S. military presence in the region.
Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said the recent US exchanges with China included a phone call from President Barack Obama to Xi.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that there were deep concerns over the situation on the Korean peninsula.
"We oppose provocative words and actions by any party in this region, and will not allow troublemaking on China's doorstep," he said in unusually sharp comments released by the foreign ministry late Saturday.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that any conflict on the Korean peninsula would be worse than the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and praised Washington for delaying a ballistic missile test.
"We should thank the United States for this important step," he said in Hanover, Germany.
"I hope it will be noticed by our partners including North Korea and that everyone will calm down and work together to seek a solution to the various problems."
Tensions have been running high on the Korean peninsula with a series of apocalyptic threats from the North, incensed by fresh U.N. sanctions imposed after its widely-condemned long-range rocket launch and a third nuclear test.
Source: Agence France Presse
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