04 August 2017

News Story: China has taken "significant steps" on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue - U.S. official

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China has taken "significant steps" to help solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Wednesday.

In a conference call with reporters on U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's upcoming trip to southeast Asia, Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state, said that the United States had seen "significant steps ... frankly, unprecedented steps" by China to increase pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"We see a growing determination on their part to take steps to try to address the situation seriously," said Thornton.

"We and China have the same goal, which is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," she added.

It was the second time in two days that the leadership in the U.S. State Department had contradicted U.S. President Donald Trump's recent rant that China does "do NOTHING for us ... just talk" on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Speaking here at a briefing on Tuesday, Tillerson also said to achieve the goal of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, the United States seeks to "partner with China," and that the United States doesn't blame the Chinese for the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Read the full story at Xinhua