Beijing – Experts said the strong condemnation by the world’s major powers and the UN on the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), was not the solution.
Experts cautioned on Friday in Beijing that sanctions are not the fundamental way of solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Ling Shengli, Secretary General of the International Security Study Centre at China Foreign Affairs University, said sanctions are not a long-term solution, even not a makeshift so far.
The secretary was of the opinion that the solution lies in establishing a peace system and solving security issues.
He stressed that looking back to the past 20 years, sanctions had played little role in solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Shengli said rather, it made the country more isolated and self-dependent, which decreased its contact with outside world, reducing the effectiveness of the sanctions.
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He said such sanctions would only make daily life harder, not affect its development of nuclear weapons for the DPRK has mobilized the entire country to do so.
Li Jiacheng, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Northeast Asian Policy Studies of Liaoning University, was of the opinion that the international community would increase sanctions against the DPRK.
According to him, DPRK should rather be placed under the framework of the UN Security Council.
“Right after the DPRK’s first nuclear test in 2006, the Security Council adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on the DPRK and set up a sanctions committee.
In response to nuclear tests conducted by the DPRK in 2009 and 2013, the Security Council has adopted another three resolutions to strengthen sanctions on the DPRK.
“It includes an arms embargo, an embargo related to nuclear, ballistic missiles, and a ban on the export of luxury goods,’’ he said.
Jiacheng warned that the DPRK was very likely to go further on the nuclear path and become more self-dependent without considering much international responses.
“The purpose of the fourth nuclear test is not aimed at promoting negotiation, but developing toward a combination of nuclear bomb and missile.
“The nuclear test is linked to the change of relations between China, the U.S. and the DPRK.
“Sino-U.S. joint sanctions have compounded the difficulties in the country and catalyzed its arbitrary act,’’ he said.
Jiacheng, however, proposed a three-step solution which includes non-proliferation, abandonment of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programme, and denuclearization.
The security expert emphasised that compared with sanction and isolation, engaging the DPRK and encouraging economic reform in the country can make the country abandon nuclear weapons.
“On the other hand, the nuclear test has demonstrated the failure of the U.S. policy toward the DPRK.
“Therefore, Washington needs to shoulder the consequences and should not pass them to China and other countries,’’ he said.
The security expert said as for China-DPRK relations, the DPRK’s irresponsible and regrettable act has widened their strategic differences, as the nuclear test goes against China’s policy goal in the denuclearization on the peninsula.
Jiacheng also admitted that the prospects of the bilateral relations have been damaged.
“Moreover, the test brought a series of destructive impacts on the Northeast Asian security situation and added more uncertainties to the denuclearization outlook on the Korean Peninsula.
“However, both experts believed that the traditional friendship between the two countries is far away from bankruptcy,’’ he said.
He noted that after the latest nuclear test, China has underscored its firm stand on promoting denuclearization and safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula.
Jiacheng said China would continue to take part in the UN Security Council discussions. (Xinhua/NAN)
