China urges U.S to return to talks with N Korea, in spite newest test

The Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Hua Chunying said on Monday during a news briefing

China repeated its call for the resumption of “six-party talks’’ with North Korea in spite of the test, which is seen as a provocation by the U.S.

“The six-party talks are an international forum on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,’’ it noted.

They include the Koreas, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, while the group last convened in 2008.

“The key word in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula is reciprocity.

“We must reciprocally solve reasonable concerns,” Hua said, adding that the situation is reaching a very intense crossroads.

Hua referred to statements made on Saturday by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who in a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed for the U.S. to resume talks with North Korea.

Wang said negotiations must go hand-in-hand with imposing sanctions on North Korea, according to UN Security Council resolutions.

Tillerson, who on Sunday wrapped up a three-nation East Asia tour, had said launching talks with North Korea was not an option unless the country first got rid of its nuclear arsenal.

Instead, Tillerson outlined a tougher approach in which all options including military action were “on the table.”

Hua also said the surveillance range of an anti-missile shield aimed at North Korea, which the U.S. and South Korea have started deploying, “covers a large range of Chinese territory” and threatens the country’s security.

North Korea is believed to be developing a nuclear missile to reach the U.S. and conducted two nuclear tests in 2016 alone.