Talks highlight South China Sea issues

Negotiations on the draft resolution began six weeks ago after North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6 and claimed it was a thermonuclear device.

Western diplomats told Reuters news agency that the USA had urged China to accept a measure which would restrict North Korean access to global ports.

A Chinese ambassador has warned South Korea that the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system against North Korea would destroy the flourishing ties between the two countries.

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with his United States counterpart John Kerry in Washington on a wide range of topics, including tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea issue.

“There’s a great possibility that this is part of China’s economic sanctions against the North for carrying out a “rocket” launch”, the businessman said, adding this would pull the plug on 50 percent of China’s trade with the North, according to the report.

Kerry said a draft was being evaluated in both Washington and Beijing, and if approved it would go beyond previous resolutions against North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs.

Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hong-kyun complained to Chu, and the ministry officials said they are working to find out whether the remarks have been relayed from the Beijing government.

On the South China Sea issue, Wang reiterated the stance that islands in the region have historically been China’s territory.

The long-standing US position has been that North Korea needs to disarm first, but the administration of US President Barack Obama has been indicating some flexibility on this point, although it says Pyongyang remains reluctant to resume talks on its nuclear arsenal.

However, China opposes the placement of the missiles in South Korea as it believes that the anti-missile system would also be used against Chinese and Russian interests.

Addressing a question on the radar at the press conference, Mr Wang said the media should look beyond China’s activities and question why “advanced armaments and equipment emerging in the South China Sea, including the strategic bombers, the missile destroyers”, have been disregarded.