China Backs Softer Sanctions Against North Korea - Foreign Ministry

China continues to insist that the possibility of granting North Korea sanctions relief should be discussed in the UN Security Council, considering the positive developments on the Korean Peninsula, Geng Shuang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman, said on Friday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2019) China continues to insist that the possibility of granting North Korea sanctions relief should be discussed in the UN Security Council, considering the positive developments on the Korean Peninsula, Geng Shuang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman, said on Friday.

South Korean media reported on Thursday that the United States was considering the possibility of weakening sanctions against North Korea for a 12-18 month period if Pyongyang agreed to completely freeze its nuclear program.

"China maintains the position that the UN Security Council should at the right time start a discussion concerning the reversibility of the corresponding resolutions [regarding the North Korean sanctions], considering the positive progress in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, especially the steps taken by North Korea toward denuclearization," Geng said.

The diplomat recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his recent Osaka meeting with US President Donald Trump, had acquainted his US counterpart with Beijing's position regarding the Korean Peninsula and called on Washington to show flexibility by softening sanctions and finding ways to get rid of mutual concerns through dialogue.

Since Trump's election, the United States has increased its efforts to make North Korea give up its nuclear program. Washington has also pressured Beijing to take a more active role in influencing North Korea to that end. Despite several meetings between Trump, Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, there has been little in terms of tangible results.