China presses for nuclear talks in last days till North Korea’s deadline for US

Summit between Chinese, South Korean and Japanese leaders could yield results for future of Korean peninsula, analyst says

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North Korea has promised an unwelcome “Christmas present” if the US does not show the “right attitude” for talks. Photo: KCNA

Published: 6:27pm, 23 Dec 2019Updated: 6:27pm, 23 Dec 2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping has again stressed the need for tensions on the Korean peninsula to be resolved through dialogue, as the deadline looms in North Korea’s threat to give the United States an unwelcome “Christmas gift”.

With just over a week to go until Pyongyang’s year-end deadline for Washington to change what it says a policy of hostility, Xi held separate talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Beijing on Monday.

Moon and Abe will also join Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for a trilateral summit in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Tuesday.

The first trilateral leadership talks took place in 2008, but were not held in 2013 and 2014, or in 2016 and 2017.

Xi said China and South Korea “both insist on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, and advocate solving problems through dialogue and consultation”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

“China supports South Korea in continuing to improve its relationship with North Korea, and injecting impetus for the Korean peninsula peace talks,” the report said.