Susan Thornton
The United States reserves the right to impose sanctions against Chinese citizens and Chinese companies that allegedly assisted North Korea in nuclear development. This is in anticipation of the American-Chinese negotiations on security, which will be held June 20, said the assistant Secretary of state for East Asian Affairs Susan Thornton, reports The South China Morning Post.
“We continue to urge China to use its unique leverage [in Pyongyang] as the leading trading partner of the DPRK,” — said the diplomat.
U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson last week said that Washington had asked Beijing to put pressure on Pyongyang, forcing it to abandon its nuclear program. “The President [of the USA Donald] trump told Chinese President XI Jinping that if China does not take action, we will do as we see fit,” — said the head of the U.S. state Department.
May 24 Japanese newspaper “Asahi” reported that Beijing had asked Washington’s 100 days of grace for the economic impact on Pyongyang. However later the official representative of the foreign Ministry of China, Lu Kang denied this information.
Washington insists on imposing tougher sanctions against Pyongyang, while 90 percent of the turnover of foreign trade of the DPRK comes from China. The US threatened to curtail business with Chinese companies associated with North Korea.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula is one of the most intense topics of international politics. It was reported that Washington is ready to launch a preemptive strike on North Korean military targets if Pyongyang decides on yet another nuclear test. In response, the DPRK said that in this case, yourself carry out a preemptive strike.
Later, the US said that they intend to provide to the DPRK diplomatic and sanctions pressure, as well as attract China to action that will compel Pyongyang to abandon missile and nuclear programs.