China warns North Korea against force as US aircraft carrier heads to peninsula
Beijing/Pyongyang — Military force cannot resolve tension over North Korea, China said on Thursday, while an influential Chinese newspaper urged the country to halt its nuclear programme in exchange for Chinese protection. With a US aircraft carrier group steaming to the area and tension rising, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told parliament in Seoul he believed Washington would consult Seoul if it was considering a pre-emptive strike. The US has about 28,500 troops in South Korea. Fears have been growing that the reclusive North could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of UN sanctions and stark warnings from the US that a policy of patience was over. China, North Korea’s sole major ally and benefactor, which, nevertheless, opposes its weapons programme, has called for talks leading to a peaceful resolution and the de-nuclearisation of the peninsula. "Military force cannot resolve the issue," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told rep...
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