US urges China to influence North Korea on denuclearisation
The American authorities are calling on China to influence the DPRK to push Pyongyang into a dialogue on denuclearisation, but Beijing has not yet done so – as stated by National Security Council Co-ordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, RIA Novosti reports
Kirby noted that the US is urging North Korea (both publicly and through diplomatic channels) to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss the prospects for denuclearisation, but Pyongyang has so far not accepted such an offer. “We are ready to conduct such a dialogue without preconditions,” the White House spokesman assured.
The United States also notes the role of China in this situation. According to Kirby, the Americans would welcome ‘Beijing’s use of its influence to encourage Pyongyang (to engage in dialogue) on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula’. “However, we do not see Beijing using its influence in this way,” the speaker said.
