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U.S.-China Talks On North Korea Start In Washington

RFE/RL June 21, 2017

The threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missiles was at the top of the agenda as high-ranking U.S. and Chinese officials began a day of talks in Washington on June 21..

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis were hosting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and General Fang Fenghui, the chief of joint staff of the People's Liberation Army.

The talks come a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese efforts to convince North Korea to curb its weapons programs had failed. Washington has also increased its criticism of North Korea after the death of a U.S. student who had been detained by Pyongyang.

Tillerson and Mattis are looking to advance cooperation with China on finding a peaceful resolution to the North Korean threat, U.S. officials said.

Susan Thornton, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the issue of North Korea would receive "top billing" at the meeting.

Thornton said that the U.S. and Chinese positions were similar: both support denuclearization and UN Security Council resolutions to try to increase pressure on the North Korean regime to get it to change its attitude.

"I think we've seen some notable cooperation from China in this effort to create this kind of global echo chamber for getting the North Koreans to change their mind," she said.

On June 20, a U.S. official said U.S. spy satellites had detected movements at North Korea's nuclear test site near a tunnel entrance.

But the official said it was unclear if North Korea was preparing for a new nuclear test to coincide with the June 21 talks in Washington with Chinese officials.

North Korea last tested a nuclear bomb in September. It has repeatedly conducted missiles tests since then and has vowed to develop a nuclear missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

The State Department also has said that the June 21 talks would cover issues such as counterterrorism and territorial rivalries in the South China Sea.

Trump, who has been counting on China to use its economic leverage with Kim Jong Un's totalitarian government, said on Twitter on June 20 that while he appreciated China's efforts to help with North Korea, "it has not worked out."

That tweet came a day after U.S. university student Otto Warmbier died in Ohio shortly after being freed from North Korea.

Warmbier arrived home last week in a coma following more than 17 months in North Korean captivity. The circumstances of his coma and death remain unclear.

The U.S. State Department said on June 20 that Washington holds Pyongyang accountable for its treatment of Warmbier, and urged North Korea to free three other U.S. citizens who are currently in detention in the country.

Trump called Warmbier's death a "total disgrace."

Warmbier was sentenced in March 2016 to 15 years in prison with hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel.

Pyongyang said Warmbier contracted botulism, a rare illness that causes paralysis, after his trial, and had been in a coma since he was given a sleeping pill.

However, U.S. doctors said he had suffered a "severe neurological injury" of unknown cause.

Warmbier's family have declined a post-mortem examination.

With reporting by Reuters, AP and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-china-meeting- pressure-north-korea/28570914.html

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U.S.-China Talks On North Korea Start In Washington