China said Thursday that pressure and sanctions alone would not help to fundamentally solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks when asked to comment on plans of the United States, Japan and Britain to push for new UN sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK,) which would target the country's oil supply and laborers working abroad.
Hua reiterated that sanctions against the DPRK must be within the framework of the UN Security Council and that China was opposed to any long-arm jurisdiction in accordance with one country's domestic law.
"Past experiences have proved that pressure and sanctions alone do not help to fundamentally solve the problem," she said.
Whether the UN Security Council's previous resolutions or the president's statement yesterday, adhering to diplomatic and political means in the settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue conforms to the interests of all parties, she said.
She said the core of the problem was the lack of mutual trust between the parties directly concerned, such as the DPRK and the United States, and the DPRK and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
China has proposed a dual-track approach of advancing denuclearization and establishing a peace mechanism in parallel, which meets both the ultimate goal of denuclearizing the peninsula and the security need from Pyongyang.
China also put forward the initiative of suspension-for-suspension, which calls on the DPRK to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of large-scale U.S.-ROK military exercises.
Hua said the initiative of suspension-for-suspension aimed at seeking breakthrough in the resumption of dialogue and negotiations, while the objective of the dual-track approach was to achieve the long-term stability of the Korean Peninsula.
Hua said she deplored that some countries were blindly highlighting the imposing of sanctions while selectively ignoring UN resolutions requiring dialogue, which hindered China's efforts in the region.
"All these words and actions are playing a destructive rather than constructive role in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue peacefully," she said.
Calling the tense Korean Peninsula situation a major and serious issue, Hua called on all sides to make rational judgment and thoughtful choices with a responsible attitude, bearing in mind the interests of the people as well as peace and stability of the region.
