Beijing's delicate stance on N. Korea

Willy Wo-Lap Lam
CNN Senior China Analyst

James Kelly arrived in Beijing after a trip to Seoul

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HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Beijing has reiterated its support for a diplomatic solution of the North Korean issue but it has stopped short of cracking the whip on its long-time ally.

State media on Thursday quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing as telling visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly that China was ready to "work with all relevant parties to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula."

Li reiterated China's support for a de-nuclearized Korean Peninsula, adding that Beijing was opposed to Pyongyang's recent decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The senior diplomat, however, gave no indication on what whether Beijing was prepared to exert pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear devices.

Li was quoted as telling Kelly that "dialogue is the most effective way to resolve the current [nuclear] issue."

The official media quoted Kelly as having expressed the hope that "the international community will exert joint efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to the issue through diplomatic channels."

Diplomatic analysts in the Chinese capital said while Beijing's clout with Pyongyang had decreased, North Korea was still very dependent on China for economic, energy and technological aid.

They said, however, that Beijing was at this stage not amenable to playing hardball with the Kim Jong Il regime.

Taiwan an issue

The analysts said several members of the Chinese leadership had tied Beijing's exerting pressure on Pyongyang to Washington's willingness to help rein in the pro-independence movement in Taiwan.

In its report on the Li-Kelly meeting, the official Xinhua news agency gave at least as much emphasis on the Taiwan as on the Korean issue.

The dispatch began with a long statement by Li on the importance of the U.S. hewing to a one-China policy and opposing Taiwan independence.

"The adequate handling of the Taiwan question is the key to guaranteeing the healthy development of Sino-American relations," Li was quoted as saying.

In the past month, Chinese diplomats have raised objections to Washington sending military advisers to Taiwan and continuing the sales of sophisticated weapons to the self-ruled island.

It is understood that Beijing has given its acquiescence to American policy on Iraq partly in return for the U.S. not interfering in China's efforts to suppress the separatist movement in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

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