China warns against military pressure on DPRK

UNITED NATIONS -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday warned against military pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

China's position on the Korean Peninsula question is very clear. China is committed to the denuclearization of the peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and the political settlement of the issue through dialogue, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"China has taken note of the DPRK's recent launch. Meanwhile, we are also concerned about the heightened military pressure and repeated dispatches of strategic weapons by a certain country to carry out military activities on the Korean Peninsula," Zhang told the Security Council.

None of the incidents have happened in isolation; should this vicious circle persist, the Korean Peninsula question will not only be intractable, but the situation will further escalate, he warned.

As a legacy of the Cold War, the Korean Peninsula issue persists to this very day. It is, in essence, a political and security issue, and its crux lies in the absence of a peace mechanism, said Zhang.

The United States and other countries have long regarded the DPRK as a security threat and are obsessed with sanctions and applying pressure on it, which has put the DPRK under an enormous security threat and existential pressure. Also, the DPRK's legitimate security concerns have never been addressed, he said.

In particular, since the beginning of this year, the United States and other countries have carried out joint military exercises on the peninsula on an unprecedented large scale, featuring highly targeted and provocative drills. The Washington Declaration, which upgrades "extended deterrence," was issued. Such an approach will only intensify confrontation and tensions, as demonstrated by the current events, said Zhang.

The history of the progression of the Korean Peninsula issue since the 1990s clearly shows that dialogue and negotiation are the only correct and effective way to ease tensions on the peninsula and promote a political settlement. As long as the United States and the DPRK resume dialogue and negotiations and meet each other halfway, the situation on the peninsula will remain stable and there is hope for a political settlement, he said.

The United States, rather than accusing others of preventing Security Council action, should come up with practical plans and take meaningful steps to respond to the DPRK's legitimate concerns and translate its posture of "unconditional dialogue" into action, he said.

The point of departure for the Security Council's handling of the Korean Peninsula issue should be to defuse the situation and promote long-term peace and stability, rather than simply imposing sanctions and exerting pressure, still less should it become a tool for certain countries to achieve their own geopolitical interests, he said.

Promoting political solutions and strengthening solidarity and mutual trust are the keys to maintaining the prestige and the authority of the Security Council. All parties should implement the DPRK-related council resolutions in a comprehensive manner. The provisions relating to the resumption of dialogue and political settlement, in particular, should not be selectively ignored, he said.

The starting point of the DPRK-related draft resolution jointly sponsored by China and Russia is to send a positive signal of goodwill, create conditions for the resumption of dialogue and a turnaround of the situation and promote the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue. Those council members that demand Security Council action should seriously consider this draft resolution, said Zhang.