China Seeks To Cool Down Heated U.S.-North Korea Rhetoric

     BEIJING (MNI) - China said Tuesday that it "totally disapproved of the war

of words" between North Korea and the United States, repeating its view that the

two countries should resolve their differences through diplomatic and political

means. 

     The statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs came following

North Korea's threat on Monday to shoot down any U.S. military planes that stray

near its territory, including those that do not impinge on North Korean

airspace. Pyongyang also said that U.S. President Donald Trump's threats toward

North Korea amounted to a declaration of war.

     "The whole world should clearly remember it was the U.S. who first declared

war on our country," North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told reporters at

the United Nations in New York, referring to Trump's comments last week to the

U.N. General Assembly, where he called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "Rocket

Man," and said that if the United States is forced to defend itself against

North Korea, "we will have no choice but to totally destroy" it.

     Ri said North Korea had the "right to shoot down United States strategic

bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country,"

insisting the U.S. had effectively "declared war" on North Korea.

     The White House said Monday that it was "absurd" to think that Trump's U.N.

speech was a declaration of war.

     Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Tuesday at a regular press

conference that China had consistently taken the position that the crisis in the

Korean Peninsula should be resolved through peaceful means, and that it stood by

its support of U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear weapons

testing. 

     "We agree with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's four-point

commitment," Lu said. "We hope the U.S. and D.P.R.K. politicians will realize

that resorting to a military way out will never resolve the issue," he said.

     Tillerson laid out in August what China later termed the "Four No's"

principle: that the U.S. does not seek regime change in North Korea; that it

does not seek the collapse of the regime; that it does not seek the quick

reunification of the Korean Peninsula; and that it does not seek an excuse to

send the U.S. military into North Korea. 

     "A war on the Korean Peninsula will have no winner and it will also be a

tragedy for regional countries," Lu said. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: vince.morkri@marketnews.com

--MNI BEIJING Bureau; +1 202-371-2121; email: john.carter@mni-news.com

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