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Korean peninsula draws range of military drills in show of force against North Korea

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The U.S. military staged bombing drills with South Korea over the Korean peninsula and Russia and China began naval exercises ahead of a U.N. General Assembly meeting on Tuesday where North Korea’s nuclear threat is likely to loom large. The flurry of military drills came after Pyongyang fired another mid-range ballistic missile over Japan on Friday and the reclusive North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3 in defiance of United Nations sanctions and other international pressure. A pair of U.S. B-1B bombers and four F-35 jets flew from Guam and Japan and joined four South Korean F-15K fighters in the latest drill.

 

China’s state media blasts US handling of North Korea crisi

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China has shown its deepening frustration over the North Korean missile test crisis, with a commentary in the state-run People’s Daily blaming the United States for hindering efforts to resolve the issue. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on all nations to take fresh measures against North Korea after another missile over Japan last Friday, the second weapons test in three weeks. The People’s Daily commentary said: Tillerson had unfairly targeted China as it was the biggest oil provider to North Korea and Russia as it hired the largest number of North Korea labourers. Negotiation should be the key to resolving the crisis, it added: “China would never support a nuclear armed North Korea, but the US, Japan and South Korea should not disrupt the regional situation either”. China and Russia backed the resolution drafted by the US, which included a ban on textile exports and restricting oil product shipments. However, an oil pipeline between China and North Korea that provides almost 90 per cent of crude oil to Pyongyang was excluded from the sanctions.

How North Korea evades UN sanctions

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The United Nations recently passed its strongest sanctions yet against North Korea following its sixth nuclear test. But the sanctions would stop Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons. The US government and a UN experts panel have published reports on how North Korea evades sanctions to earn the hard currency it needs: Chinese businessman Chi Yupeng allegedly used his company Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Materials to buy steel and anthracite coal from North Korea in exchange for nuclear and missile components, according to the US Treasury department. Smugglers from other countries such as China turn off their ships’ transponders when entering North Korean waters, then take North Korean goods to another country, including Russia. Almost 100,000 North Koreans work around the world, generating about 500 million dollar for Kim Jong-un’s regime, according to the US government. North Korea continues to sell arms and provide military training overseas, despite UN embargoes. It is particularly active in Africa and the Middle East. A United Nations investigation said buyers included Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Mozambique, Namibia, Syria, Uganda and Tanzania. Benin, Botswana, Mali and Zimbabwe were also investigated for their ties with North Korean companies.

Just Like His Grandfather, Kim Jong-Un Exploits Mistrust Between Us And China

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US President Donald Trump has said several times that China could  help stop North Korea’s nuclear advancement if Beijing agreed to use its economic leverage as North Korea’s top trading partner.  Beijing has dismissed the argument, saying it is not Beijing but Washington and Pyongyang that should solve their differences. China has called for the US and South Korea to stop provocative military exercises in exchange for the North freezing its nuclear and missile tests. But the US does not believe such compromises will win corresponding concessions from the Stalinist regime, as the North’s leader Kim Jong-un has a poor record of honouring promises. Meanwhile, the bigger question hanging over this compromised resolution is whether Beijing will honour the sanctions. Suspicion over China’s sincerity in implementation became clear when the Trump administration threatened to punish Chinese entities who violated the UN pact.

 

North Korea vows to continue nuclear tests despite condemnation from UN Security Council

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North Korea’s statement followed an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council where the country was condemned once more for its behaviour. Kim Jong-un said: “the country was close to the goal of completing their nuclear force and should use all state power to finish as they have nearly reached the terminal”. The Security Council condemned North Korea’s most recent missile launch, putting up a unified front in the face of Pyongyang’s defiance of the body’s efforts to halt international trade with the country. Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia expressed frustration over the failure of the Security Council’s actions in stopping North Korea’s nuclear provocations. The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for suggesting that Russia and China aren’t doing enough to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme and demand it that China and Russia take “direct actions” against Pyongyang. “China and Russia must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own”. Tillerson said in a statement issued soon after the missile firing.

China rejects US demand to cut oil exports to North Korea

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Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US, told reporters at a briefing in Washington when asked if Beijing would cut oil shipments. Cui said: “Any further steps would need to be worked out with the agreement of the entire UN Security Council”. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: China use its role as the main exporter of oil to North Korea to force Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. Hours earlier, North Korea had launched a missile over Japan. Cui said the US, not China, needed to take more responsibility for the issue. They cannot just leave the issue to China alone and honestly I think the United States should be doing more, much more than now, so that there is real effective international cooperation on this issue, Cui said.

Macedonia Chambers of Commerce signs declaration to strengthen trade cooperation with CEE countries and China

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Macedonian Chambers of Commerce (MCC) signed Friday in Podgorica bilateral agreement on strengthening trade and economic cooperation with the Beijing Chamber of Commerce as well as declaration on establishing mechanisms for the leaders of the Chambers of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the 16 + 1 process aimed at enhancing China’s cooperation with CEE countries. President of the ICT Chamber within MCC, Sasa Ognenovski, participates at the 16 + 1 Summit in Podgorica together with mayors of the 16 CEE country’s capitals, presidents and deputies of chambers of commerce as well as the mayor of Beijing. The signed agreements include precisely established goals and activities, and mean new opportunities for Macedonian companies through the MCC to actively participate in the initiatives for increasing cooperation and trade partnerships with China and the 16 countries involved in this mega project for economic, political and cultural cooperation.

US should ‘do its duty’ to resolve North Korea nuclear crisis, not blame China

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The nature of the North Korea nuclear problem is a security issue. China supplies North Korea with most of its oil and Russia is the largest employer of North Korean forced labour. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying saying China was not to blame for the situation on the Korean Peninsula. She said: “The focus of the conflict is not China. The cause of escalating tensions is not China and the key to the problem is also not China.  Foreign Ministry Hua said, that China had “made tremendous sacrifices and paid a heavy price” by implementing sanctions against North Korea. China’s determination and sincerity couldn’t be doubted. China has been saying all along that more sanctions would not help the situation”, Wang Sheng professor of Korean affairs at Jilin University in northeastern China said: “While the United States has been accusing China for not being strict enough in restricting North Korea economically, they can now see that North Korea won’t be stopped even if China imposes more trade pressure”. Cai Jian, a Korean affairs expert from Fudan University in Shanghai, said: “North Korea will not stop developing nuclear weapons because of the sanctions, as the regime now sees greater importance in increasing its bargaining power before any negotiations take place”, So I still think it is not an option for the US to start a war when it seems North Korea’s nuclear weapons are more developed than expected.

How Chinese diplomacy can shape US policy on North Korea

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The world is at a critical juncture after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test. How the international community reacts to the latest provocation from Kim Jong-un will profoundly affect prospects for peace and stability. Even if China, the main supplier of oil to North Korea, supported this package, the international community may not have been able to force Kim to give up his nuclear programme. Beijing needs to insist on the US committing to dialogue with North Korea. Diplomacy, not sanctions, is the pathway towards greater security for North Korea. The best way to assure North Korea about its security is to end the cold war situation between the two countries.

North Korea has repeatedly signalled that appropriate US measures, like a peace treaty to formally end the Korean war and normalisation of relations between the two countries, could create the conditions for a freeze of its nuclear and missile programmes.

China says it won’t allow war or chaos on Korean peninsula after backing latest UN sanctions

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China said on Tuesday it will not allow war or chaos on the Korean peninsula after it endorsed the latest UN sanctions against Pyongyang following its nuclear test last week. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: the resolution also reiterated the need to maintain peace and stability across the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia. Geng said “The peninsula issue must be resolved by peacefully and the military solution has no way out”. The UN sanctions are the strongest yet against Pyongyang, and also include bans on textile exports from the North, joint ventures and technology transfers, as well as efforts to stop smuggling of prohibited products. The US was pushing for tougher sanctions – including a full oil embargo, but met resistance from Russia and China, which feared that putting too much pressure on North Korea could escalate tensions. China has already imposed sanctions on Pyongyang including banning seafood imports from North Korea, and Chinese banks reportedly put a stop to transactions by North Koreans on Tuesday.

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