Heat is on China after North Korean missile test
Beijing will face pressure from the US and its allies to support additional sanctions, analysts say, after latest provocation by Pyongyang
Beijing may be more willing to support additional international sanctions against Pyongyang after North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday, analysts said, though they acknowledged what China could do was limited.
South Korea said the move by the North was a “show of force” designed to test US President Donald Trump, who responded by pledging “100 per cent” support for Washington’s key regional ally Japan.
Reuters cited an unnamed US official as saying the Trump administration was likely to increase pressure on China to rein in Pyongyang. Trump has previously said Beijing was not doing enough to keep its ally in check.
Relations have thawed in recent days after Trump reaffirmed Washington’s “one-China” policy in what he described as a “very warm” telephone conversation with President Xi Jinping.
There was no immediate comment on the missile launch from Beijing. But analysts said the move by the Kim Jong-un regime should not come as a surprise, and that Beijing had limited options in how to respond.