South Korean leader Yoon says China should do more to address North’s nuclear threat

Name: North Korean leader Kim orders increased missile production ahead of South Korea-US drills
Uploaded: 2023-09-08T08:00:10.000Z
Duration: 2 min 15 s
Description: North Korean leader Kim orders increased missile production ahead of South Korea-US drills

Yoon Suk-yeol asked for Beijing’s support to revive a trilateral summit with Tokyo, during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta

Seoul wants Beijing’s cooperation to ensure Pyongyang does not become an obstacle to South Korea-China relations

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta on Thursday. Yoon said North Korea’s weapons are a threat to all countries. Photo: Xinhua

Cyril Ip

Published: 4:00pm, 8 Sep 2023

Pyongyang’s nuclear programme should not be an “obstacle” to relations between Seoul and Beijing, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said after a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, as the two sides agreed to revive a regional political summit along with Japan.

Yoon and Li met in Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, a forum for strategic dialogue in the Indo-Pacific region, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Yoon urged Beijing to do more to address the threats posed by Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programme, according to news agency Yonhap, which quoted a statement from South Korea’s presidential office.

“I ask China to fulfil its responsibility and role as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Let us cooperate to ensure North Korea does not become an obstacle in the development of South Korea-China relations,” Yoon said, adding that Seoul’s ties with Washington and Tokyo would only strengthen to counter Pyongyang.

Earlier in the day, Yoon said at the summit – which includes the Asean bloc, China, Japan, and the United States, among others – that North Korea’s weapons were a threat to all countries. North Korea remains under UN sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests, but there are aid exemptions.

Out of the countries that possess nuclear weapons, North Korea has the fewest – between 40 and 50 – while Russia and the US each have more than 5,000, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

02:15

North Korean leader Kim orders increased missile production ahead of South Korea-US drills

Li reiterated that China supported both sides on the Korean peninsula to advance reconciliation and cooperation, while committing to continuing to promote peace talks, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

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