China warns US, South Korea against provoking North Korea

Beijing: China on Thursday warned the US and South Korea not to provoke North Korea. This after Washington and Seoul warned North Korea that its leadership would end if it employed its nuclear arsenal, Agence France-Presse reported.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that all parties should face up to the crux of the Korean peninsula issue and must play a constructive role in promoting a peaceful resolution of the issue. She warned against "deliberate" attempts to stir up tensions as well as "provoking confrontations".

US President Joe Biden and his South Korean (SK) counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol made clear at a Washington summit that if the isolated dictatorship in North Korea (NK) attacked South Korea or the United States, the response would be devastating. US and SK agreed that the former would strengthen the latter's security shield as it continues its missile tests.

However, Beijing painted it as Washington ignoring the regional tension and continues exploiting the NK-SK issue to create tension.

Mao explained that the US is provoking confrontation between camps, undermining the nuclear non-proliferation regime as well as the strategic interests of other countries.

According to her, the US moves aggravate tension in the Korean peninsula and degrade regional peace and security and stability. It also counters the goal of denuclearization on the peninsula, she said.

In recent days, China also played a neutral mediator in the Ukraine-Russia issue and contacted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone in an apparent attempt to find a resolution in the Ukraine war. Despite having strong ties with Russia, China, posing as a neutral party, entered the fray for mediation talks. So far, China has not condemned the Russian invasion and war crimes ensued. However, China's political solution was vague, including a call for dialogue and respect for all countries' territorial sovereignty, while same China named/renamed certain villages of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

China, which attempts to make incursions into its neighbouring countries such as Taiwan, Bhutan and India, should be in no position to issue advice over US's hostile moves.