By Shannon Tiezzi
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns was in Beijing this week to discuss Asia-Pacific security issues.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns was in Beijing this week as part of a larger trip to Northeast Asia. According a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Burns held separate meetings with Chinese leaders and participated in an “interim round of the U.S.-China Strategic Security Dialogue.” While in Beijing, Burns met with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui (formerly Beijing’s ambassador to the U.S.), and PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff Wang Guanzhong.
Yonhap News Agency reported that Burns urged China to work closely with the U.S. to encourage North Korea to take “meaningful and early steps” to dismantle its nuclear program. How to handle the North Korea problem seems to have been one of the major areas for discussion. According to the Beijing Embassy’s statement, Burns called for North Korea to “negotiate complete and irreversible denuclearization as called for the in the September 2005 Six-Party Joint Statement.”
The reference towards the six-party talks alludes to an important disagreement between the U.S. and China on the North Korea issue. Chinese leaders consistently push for the U.S. to agree to restart the talks, which were discontinued in 2009. Chinese experts argue that only negotiations (whether under the six-party format or another configuration) will result in real progress on the nuclear issue. Washington, however, refuses to restart the talks until North Korea takes concrete steps towards fulfilling the promises made during previous negotiations. Until then, the U.S. prefers to use sanctions to pressure the Kim regime.
Read the full story at The Diplomat