China Works in "Its Own Way" Toward North Korea Nuclear Settlement

(MENAFN) Beijing is carefully distancing itself from Washington's characterization of a shared denuclearization agenda for North Korea, with a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman opting Monday for measured, independent language rather than endorsing the White House's framing of last week's summit between the two powers.

"China's position and policy on the Korean Peninsula maintain continuity and consistency. We have been playing a constructive role in our own way in advancing a political settlement of the issue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

The careful phrasing came in direct response to a White House readout issued Sunday, which stated that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reaffirmed a "shared goal" of denuclearizing Pyongyang during their face-to-face meetings in the Chinese capital last Thursday and Friday. The two leaders covered an expansive agenda spanning Korean Peninsula security, the status of Taiwan, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and bilateral trade relations.

Rather than affirming or rejecting the denuclearization framing outright, Guo said Beijing remains committed to urging all "relevant parties" to confront the "root cause and crux" of the Korean Peninsula issue and pursue a political resolution — language that pointedly stops short of mirroring Washington's stated objective.

The diplomatic gap in messaging is significant. North Korea, which has dramatically accelerated its missile testing program in recent months, has already declared its nuclear status "irreversible" — a posture that renders any shared denuclearization goal between Beijing and Washington largely aspirational, and underscores the deepening complexity facing both powers as they navigate one of Asia's most entrenched security flashpoints.

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