A senior Chinese diplomat has called upon the United States to "shift its tactics on Korea," saying that "the Korean nuclear crisis has escalated so much that it is now threatening world security."
Fu Ying, a veteran diplomat and now chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said in an article published Thursday by the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "Peace on the Peninsula isn't possible without settling the nuclear issue, which means the United States and the DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) must talk directly."
"The United States and its allies pay more attention to possible restrictions on the DPRK than addressing its security concerns in exchange for abandoning its nuclear program," she said.
However, Fu noted that the United States and its allies have imposed unilateral sanctions on the DPRK while setting increasing military pressure on the country.
"Increasingly tough sanctions have seriously affected the DPRK's economic needs, but failed to stop its nuclear and missile programs," she noted.
"From China's perspective, sanctions are necessary, but must be aimed at promoting talks," she said, "Pressure without talks would lead nowhere."
China put forward the "suspension for suspension" initiative, under which the DPRK would suspend its nuclear and missile programs, and the United States and the Republic of Korea suspend their large-scale military exercises.
"Our hope is to give peace a chance," she said, "China does not want war, chaos, nuclear pollution or a refugee wave on the Peninsula. No one would emerge as a winner from a war."
"The United States and its allies need to understand the necessity of compromise, instead of taking a zero-sum approach, only considering their own interests and refusing to give the other side a chance for survival and development," she added.
