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US, China spar over North Korea, South China Sea

28 January 2016 00:10 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Top U.S. and Chinese officials sparred Wednesday over how to deal with North Korea's latest nuclear weapons test and ease tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met for more than four hours and said their discussions were "constructive" and "candid." But at a joint news conference, they presented sharply opposing positions on the two issues.

Kerry acknowledged that "our differences will continue to test us." Still, he stressed that the world benefits when the United States and China are able to work together, including on the Iran nuclear deal and climate change.

On North Korea, Kerry said the United States wanted new U.N. Security Council action that would impose "significant new measures" to punish Pyongyang for its test this month and boost pressure on the North to return to disarmament talks.

"There's been a lot of talk about North Korea through these past years. Now we believe is the time for action that can bring North Korea back to the table," Kerry said.

Wang said China, which is North Korea's most important ally, chief trading partner and a key source of economic assistance, agreed on the need for a new resolution. But he suggested that Beijing would not support new penalties even though it has condemned the testing. "Sanctions are not an end in themselves," he said.

"The new resolution should not provoke new tension in the situation, still less destabilize the Korean Peninsula," Wang said.

Later Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, told reporters that countries "need to accelerate progress" on negotiating a U.N. resolution.

Kerry noted that sanctions had brought Iran to the nuclear negotiating table. "More significant and impactful sanctions were put in place against Iran, which did not have a nuclear weapon than against North Korea, which does."

"All nations, particularly those who seek a global leadership role, or have a global leadership role, have a responsibility to deal with this threat," he said, referring to China.