“China urges relevant parties to fully implement UNSC resolutions on the DPRK, especially provisions related to resuming dialogue, strengthening diplomatic efforts, and promoting political settlement,” the spokesperson said.
North Korea, formally named Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. So-called six-party denuclearisation talks – between North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan – stalled in 2009.
Talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019 also failed. China and Russia have since pushed for UN sanctions to be eased for humanitarian purposes and to entice Pyongyang back to talks.
China said last year that the key to solving the issue of North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes was in the United States’ hands, urging Washington to show “more sincerity and flexibility” if it wants a breakthrough.
At a UN Security Council meeting earlier this month on Pyongyang’s latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, deputy US ambassador to the UN Jeffrey DeLaurentis said the United States was committed to diplomacy.
“Publicly and privately, and at senior levels, we have repeatedly urged the DPRK to engage in dialogue. We have made clear that we have no preconditions for engagement, and we are prepared to discuss any topic of concern to Pyongyang. The DPRK has not responded to our offers,” he told the council.
