Watch Video*(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)*
*BY NICHOLE CARTMELL*
Despite support for United Nations sanctions, it does not appear China will desert North Korea.
In a news conference during the National People’s Congress, China’s foreign minister said pushing for sanctions does not mean the country has changed its attitude toward North Korea. (Picture Via: Wikimedia Commons)
China — an ally of North Korea — says, instead, it encourages peaceful dialogue to persuade the hermit nation to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Last week China and the U.S. agreed on sanctions against North Korea, denouncing the nation’s third nuclear test since 2006. These sanctions include new measures targeted at cash transfers and luxury items.
The U.N. Security Council imposed stricter restrictions on shipping firms and financial institutions. It also looked to block certain cash transfers used by North Korean officials to support alleged illegal activities. (Video Via: CBS News)
North Korea has, of course, since brushed off the sanctions, pledging to push forward with its nuclear program. And the rhetoric from Chinese media casts doubt on whether the country will actually impose these sanctions.
In an op/ed piece for Global Times, a foreign ministry think-tank explains Beijing is *“caught in the middle” *with its *“thankless” *task of mediation between opposing parties to the North. It instead, calls for all sides to return to peace talks.
*“The US, South Korea and Japan should abandon fantasies of coercing Pyongyang through sanctions. They should make efforts to ease North Korea's sense of strategic insecurity.”*
And according to The New York Times, there are no signs that China will take any further action — prosperous trade between it and North Korea among one of the main reasons.
The Times says the export of oil more or less keeps the North Korean military functioning. The Chinese government has continued to support the trade of coal and iron ore between Chinese companies and the North. (Video Via: Korean Central Television)
China remains one of North Korea’s biggest economic allies — a factor that comes into play when it comes to these sanctions.
*“China backed the new sanctions in the hope that they would be sufficient to encourage North Korea to return to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearization, but not so harsh that they would cause the North’s collapse.”*
(SOC) Reported by Newsy 10 hours ago.