PRESS RELEASE

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China: Peace on Korean Peninsula Primary Responsibility of U.S. and North Korea, Not China

Aug. 1, 2017 (EIRNS)—China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said yesterday that the United States and North Korea hold "the primary responsibility" for de-escalating tensions and negotiating peace on the Korean Peninsula, not China, reports the Associated Press. Liu, speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the end of China’s July rotation as president of the UN Security Council, said that if Washington and Pyongyang refuse to reduce tensions and hold new talks as called for in UN Security Council resolutions, "then no matter how capable China is, China’s efforts will not yield practical results because it depends on the two principal parties."

Liu said instead of complying with Security Council calls to de-escalate tensions and re-launch six-party negotiations, tensions have heightened as a result of new missile tests, statements that "all options are on the table," and the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, in South Korea.