By Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL (Reuters – China continues to play a constructive role towards resolving North Korea’s nuclear crisis, Beijing’s Korean affairs envoy to China said Tuesday. The statement came a week following North Korea had promised to “develop its nuclear weapons at the fastest speed possible”.

According to South Korea’s foreign ministry, Liu Xiaoming was the Special Representative of China on Korean Peninsula Affairs.

Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader, pledged that he would accelerate the country’s development of nuclear weapons and supervised a massive military parade. However denuclearisation negotiations with the United States are still stalled.

Noh voiced concern over North’s missile testing and efforts to rebuild its Punggye-ri nuclear site. He asked Beijing for help to get Pyongyang to back into dialogue.

In a press release, the ministry stated that “The sides agreed to continue close strategic communication between South Korea & China over Korean Peninsula issues.”

Recent weapons tests by Pyongyang have been intensified. In March 2017, Pyongyang resumed its intercontinental bombistic missile (ICBM), for the first-time since 2017. Washington and Seoul believe it might also be ready for new rounds of nuclear tests.

Liu indicated that Beijing was worried about the tensions on the Korean peninsula on Sunday, but said the United States and North Korea have the keys to solving the matter.

Liu’s Seoul trip is his first since April 2021. This comes just days before South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol becomes office. Joe Biden will visit Seoul to meet with Yoon.

United States insists on more United Nations sanctions against the North. China and Russia have reacted against the United States’ request for more sanctions to be imposed by the UN on North Korea. They argue that these should be lifted to facilitate talks and to provide relief for North Koreans who are poor.