UNITED NATIONS, May 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday warned against attempts to impose more sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Dialogue and consultation is the only correct way to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue. The United States is a direct party to the issue and holds the key to breaking the deadlock. As such, it should take concrete actions to respond positively to the reasonable concerns of the DPRK and create conditions for an early resumption of dialogue, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.
Although the U.S. side claims to be willing to engage in unconditional dialogue, when it comes to actions, it is continuing to tighten sanctions and exert pressure. This is clearly not constructive, he told the Security Council. "The new draft resolution proposed by the United States, evoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter, is centered on furthering sanctions, which is not an appropriate way to address the current situation on the peninsula."
The Security Council, over the years, has adopted numerous resolutions on the issue, which, while authorizing sanctions, have also stressed the need for a peaceful, political, and diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. All these deserve equal attention, said Zhang.
"Sanctions are but a means to an end, and should always serve the overall goal of political settlement. Equating sanctions to or replacing diplomatic efforts is completely putting the cart before the horse, and will not achieve the desired result," he said. "Despite the fact that sanctions have already had a negative humanitarian impact and collateral damage to other countries, the countries concerned are still in total denial, which is inconsistent with the conclusions of various international humanitarian agencies and the 1718 (DPRK Sanctions) Committee's panel of experts."
In response to the latest situation, China and a number of Security Council members have all put forward reasonable proposals to explore ways to take strong actions and promote the political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, in a way that best garners the consensus of council members. The draft resolution tabled by China and Russia is for this very purpose. Regrettably, the United States, which is the penholder of the DPRK non-proliferation issue, has turned a blind eye to the reasonable proposals of China and other relevant council members, and remains enamored superstitiously with the magic power of sanctions, said Zhang.
"We believe that if the United States changes its negative attitude, it is possible for council members to reach a consensus. We hope that the council members will give serious consideration to the joint China-Russia draft resolution," he said.
