On May 26, 2017, Foreign Minister Wang Yi expounded China’s view and proposition on the Korean Peninsula during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia following their talks in Moscow.
Wang Yi said that regarding the Korean Peninsula issue, the Chinese side advocates to solve problems with peaceful measures through dialogue and negotiation on the basis of the strict implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions. The proposition China made is in line with the principles of the UN Charter and the successful experiences of the international community to cope with hotspot issues, and conforms to the common interests of all the local parties including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Wang Yi stressed that military measures cannot solve any problems but bringing bigger ones and resulting in severe bequeathal problems. China and Russia have reached a high degree of consensus that military measures should not be an option for any country no matter in the past or the future.
Wang Yi noted that the root of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue lays in security, and the reasonable security concerns of each party should be effectively addressed. Lack of mutual trust is the crux of the Peninsula nuclear issue, and each party should engage in activities that are conducive to the establishment of mutual trust. To this end, China has proposed the “dual track” approach and “suspension-for-suspension” proposal which serves as the initial step to initiate dialogue. China’s propositions echo with the visions made by Russia. The Chinese side appreciates Russia for supporting its initiatives. Both sides will play a positive and constructive role in remitting the Korean Peninsula situation and ultimately solving the Peninsula issue with peaceful measures.
China urges the DPRK to stop engaging in activities against the UN Security Council resolutions, and create necessary conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiation.
It has been noticed that the US side recently proposed to solve the Korean Peninsula problem with peaceful measures through dialogue and negotiation, and China hopes that the US side could transform the “four principles, one commitment” (It is not about regime change, not about regime collapse, not about an accelerated reunification of the Peninsula, and not about looking for an excuse to cross the 38th Parallel, but to let the DPRK know that only denuclearization can bring security and prosperity.) into specific policies and actions toward the DPRK.
The new ROK government repeatedly expressed that it stands ready to press ahead sanctions against the DPRK while seeking the dialogue, so as to eventually address the relevant issues through negotiation. China hopes that the ROK side could stick to this direction and policy, and strive to resume necessary dialogue and contact with the DPRK side.
The Japanese side holds a rather negative attitude. China hopes Japan could take a more active and constructive attitude from the overall situation of regional peace and stability without hindering the peaceful negotiation.