On 3 September, while ignoring the general opposition on the part of the international community, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted yet another nuclear test. The Chinese Government strongly opposes and condemns such an act.

China is consistently committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula and resolving the issue through dialogue and consultation. The Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2375 (2017) today reflects those three commitments and the united position of the international community in opposing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s development of its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and preserving the international non-proliferation regime. China urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to earnestly heed the expectations and will of the international community to halt its nuclear and missile development, faithfully abide by and implement the Council’s resolutions, stop any further nuclear and missile tests and concretely work towards denuclearization.

At the same time, the resolution reiterates the need to maintain peace and stability on the Peninsula and in North-East Asia. It also commits to resolving the issue through peaceful, diplomatic and political means and supports the resumption of the Six-Party Talks, as well as the commitment voiced in the statement of 19 September 2005, while also emphasizing the importance of de-escalating tension on the Peninsula. All parties should effectively and comprehensively implement the relevant provisions set out in Security Council resolutions.

The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully and through comprehensive measures, while balancing the legitimate security concerns of all parties. China has made unremitting efforts towards denuclearization and maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula. On 4 July, China and Russia issued a joint statement on the issue of the Korean Peninsula. Both countries put forward a roadmap for the resolution of the issue, based on China’s proposal of a dual-track approach which promotes the denuclearization of the Peninsula and the establishment of a peace mechanism in parallel, and the suspension-for-suspension initiative, which calls on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile activities, and on the United States and the Republic of Korea to suspend their large-scale military exercises, together with Russia’s step-by-step conception. The joint Chinese and Russian initiative is realistic and feasible. It aims to tackle both the symptoms and root causes of the problem, so as to advance the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and maintain the peace and stability of the Peninsula. In that vein, we hope to obtain a positive response and backing from relevant parties. We hope that the United States will translate the “Four Nos”, which is that the US doesn’t seek regime change; doesn’t incite a collapse of the regime; doesn’t hurry to push for the reunification of the Peninsula; and doesn’t send its military north of the thirty-eighth parallel, into its concrete policies regarding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

China is a close neighbor of the Korean Peninsula. We have been consistently committed to its denuclearization and are against any war or chaos on the territory. The strengthening of military deployment on the Korean Peninsula runs counter to the goal of denuclearization and reaching peace and stability. The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system severely undermines the regional strategic balance. It also undermines the strategic security interests of the countries in the region, of which China is part. China strongly urges the relevant parties to halt its deployment and remove all related equipment.

At present, the situation on the Peninsula is sensitive, complex and grave. The relevant parties should remain calm and avoid a rhetoric or action that could aggravate the tensions. The priority at present is to comprehensively and strictly implement the relevant Security Council resolutions, and the parties concerned should resume talks and negotiations sooner rather than later, endeavor to advance the denuclearization process and maintain peace and stability on the Peninsula. The Council should shoulder its historical responsibility in this regard. China will continue to advance dialogue and consultations, work together with all relevant parties and make a positive and constructive effort to ensure that an appropriate settlement is reached at an early date so as to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, attain denuclearization and ensure long-term peace and stability on the Peninsula.

(Photo by LI Muzi, Xinhua News Agency)