Story highlights
- North Korea and the US have not had official talks for years
- Washington has sought to bring pressure to bear on Pyongyang through Beijing
Hong Kong (CNN)North
Korea's test of a long-range missile that could hit major US cities has
drawn condemnation from the US, China, Japan and South Korea, and calls
for a rethink in tactics toward Pyongyang, given the dramatic
escalation in its capabilities.
US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley late Sunday dismissed claims Washington was seeking UN Security Council action, as it has done following previous tests, pointing out North Korea "is already subject to numerous Security Council resolutions that they violate with impunity."
"The time for talk is over," Haley said, and instead pointed to China,
saying Beijing "must decide if it is finally willing to take this vital
step" of challenging Pyongyang, a point that echoed US President Donald
Trump Saturday, who said he was "very disappointed in China."
"Our
foolish past leaders have allowed (Beijing) to make hundreds of
billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with
North Korea, just talk," Trump tweeted.
On
Monday, Trump spoke to his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, committing
to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea.
In other developments over the weekend:
- The US said it conducted a successful test of the Alaska-based THAAD missile defense and sent two B-1 bombers from Guam on a 10-hour round trip over the Korean Peninsula
- US Vice President Mike Pence said "all options are on the table" when it comes to North Korea
- China unveiled a new long-range missile at a huge military parade
Friday's test was deemed more advanced than
the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched on July 4 and
marks a big step forward from a country once deemed incapable of putting
forward a serious ICBM program.
No good option
Sanctions
and pressuring China have been the main avenues for attempting to
contain North Korea's nuclear and missile programs in the past -- with
little success.
Despite this, both
still have their proponents, with some analysts arguing sanctions have
not been targeted correctly or wide enough, and others -- including US
administration officials -- saying sanctions should go after Chinese interests as a means of forcing Beijing's hand on North Korea.
Speaking last week,
Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of the State Department's
East Asia bureau, said "the Chinese are now very clear that we're going
to go after Chinese entities if need be."
While China is North Korea's primary trading partner, and trade between the countries may be increasing even as Beijing cuts coal and other exports,
analysts have questioned whether economic pressure could ever rein in
Pyongyang's military ambitions given the primacy the regime places on
the nuclear program in terms of ensuring its survival.
Both
the Obama and Trump administrations have placed great weight on Beijing
acting to contain its neighbor and longtime ally, but some analysts
warn assumptions about China's influence on the North Korean regime may
be out of date.
"Beijing's
channels to Pyongyang are frayed, they're weak," said John Delury, an
expert on Chinese-Korean relations at Seoul's Yonsei University.
"President
Trump's tweets reflect this inherited Obama view that the road to
Pyongyang leads through Beijing -- that's a dead end."
Mike Chinoy, author of "Meltdown: Inside the North Korean nuclear crisis," told CNN
last year many high-level North Koreans "resent the hell out of the
Chinese. They hate the idea that the Chinese can come in and tell them
what to do. And the reality is the Chinese can't."
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