Chinese envoy warns against more sanctions on DPRK

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy on Wednesday warned against attempts to impose more sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Dialogue and consultation is the only correct way to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue. The United States is a direct party to the issue and holds the key to breaking the deadlock. As such, it should take concrete actions to respond positively to the reasonable concerns of the DPRK and create conditions for an early resumption of dialogue, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Although the U.S. side claims to be willing to engage in unconditional dialogue, when it comes to actions, it is continuing to tighten sanctions and exert pressure. This is clearly not constructive, he told the Security Council. "The new draft resolution proposed by the United States, evoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, is centered on furthering sanctions, which is not an appropriate way to address the current situation on the peninsula."

The Security Council, over the years, has adopted numerous resolutions on the issue, which, while authorizing sanctions, have also stressed the need for a peaceful, political, and diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. All these deserve equal attention, said Zhang.

"Sanctions are but a means to an end, and should always serve the overall goal of political settlement. Equating sanctions to or replacing diplomatic efforts is completely putting the cart before the horse, and will not achieve the desired result," he said. "Despite the fact that sanctions have already had a negative humanitarian impact and collateral damage to other countries, the countries concerned are still in total denial, which is inconsistent with the conclusions of various international humanitarian agencies and the 1718 (DPRK Sanctions) Committee's panel of experts."

In response to the latest situation, China and a number of Security Council members have all put forward reasonable proposals to explore ways to take strong actions and promote the political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, in a way that best garners the consensus of council members. The draft resolution tabled by China and Russia is for this very purpose. Regrettably, the United States, which is the penholder of the DPRK non-proliferation issue, has turned a blind eye to the reasonable proposals of China and other relevant council members, and remains enamored superstitiously with the magic power of sanctions, said Zhang.

"We believe that if the United States changes its negative attitude, it is possible for council members to reach a consensus. We hope that the council members will give serious consideration to the joint China-Russia draft resolution," he said.

The issue of the Korean Peninsula should be looked at historically and comprehensively so as to understand the causes and consequences of the matter at hand. After 2018, there had been a general de-escalation of the situation. The DPRK took a series of measures to denuclearize and de-escalate the situation. The leaders of the DPRK and the United States met in Singapore and reached agreement on establishing a new type of DPRK-U.S. relations, building a peace mechanism on the peninsula, and advancing the denuclearization process. Regrettably, the U.S. side later reneged on its position, and did not reciprocate the DPRK's positive initiatives in accordance with the action-for-action principle, leading to an intractable impasse in the DPRK-U.S. dialogue, adding to the mutual distrust between the two countries, and stalling the denuclearization process, said Zhang.

As a close neighbor, China is highly concerned about the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and has always insisted on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, denuclearizing the peninsula, and resolving problems through dialogue and consultation, he said. "We advocate that all parties concerned should prioritize the overall peace and stability on the peninsula, adhere to the direction of dialogue and consultation, meet each other halfway, resume meaningful dialogue at an early date, and explore effective ways to resolve each other's legitimate concerns in a balanced manner."

China is seriously concerned about some recent negative developments, he said.

Some countries are calling for the denuclearization of the DPRK, while they themselves are promoting cooperation on nuclear submarines, which carries serious risks of nuclear proliferation. Some countries profess their concerns about the DPRK's military development, while at the same time developing with much fanfare their own offensive weapons system such as hypersonic weapons. A certain politician in a certain country concerned even went so far as to openly advocate discussing nuclear sharing under the pretext of addressing security threats, he noted.

China's Global Security Initiative is an important guide to resolving the issue of the Korean Peninsula. Security is indivisible. The security of one country cannot be based on the insecurity of another country. Such a concept works anywhere, anytime, he said.

China once again calls on all parties concerned to jointly cherish and maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, work together to promote the establishment of a peace mechanism and denuclearization process on the peninsula, and play a constructive role to this end, Zhang said.