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Pacific News Minute: US Pressures China to Rein In North Korea

Wikipedia Commons
Wikipedia Commons

The fallout from North Korea's nuclear test earlier this month continues. En route to Beijing, a senior US diplomat warned that if China does not act to rein in its ally - the United States will take steps that China may not like.  More from Neal Conan in the Pacific News Minute.

The US has already imposed sanctions on just about everything it can in North Korea- what's left, are what's known as secondary sanctions, which target countries that do business with Pyongyang. As a practical matter - that means China, which supplies North Korea with much of its food, fuel, financial services and almost all its foreign trade.  Speaking to reporters in Seoul on his way to Beijing, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said such steps would not be directed at China, but - quote - "China probably won't like them." He added that China could avoid those steps, by using its leverage.

While it condemned North Korea's test, China has given no sign that it's ready to get tough with its old ally.  A Foreign ministry spokesman called for dialogue and consultations, while Washington, Tokyo and Seoul all say they want action strong enough to change North Korea's behavior.

Another step China would not like, is the deployment of advanced US anti-ballistic missile systems in South Korea.  Last week, President Park Geun-hye said she would now consider a system called THAAD or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.  In the past China has denounced that idea as a threat to its security.  In Washington, the head of the US Missile Defense Agency told a meeting that this most recent test did not show any increase in North Korea's technical abilities. Vice Admiral James Syring added: "I believe we are absolutely on the right path to stay ahead of that threat."

Over 36 years with National Public Radio, Neal Conan worked as a correspondent based in New York, Washington, and London; covered wars in the Middle East and Northern Ireland; Olympic Games in Lake Placid and Sarajevo; and a presidential impeachment. He served, at various times, as editor, producer, and executive producer of All Things Considered and may be best known as the long-time host of Talk of the Nation. Now a macadamia nut farmer on Hawaiʻi Island, his "Pacific News Minute" can be heard on HPR Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
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