North Korea: US Urges China To Help End Crisis

The current situation on the Korean peninsula is at a "critical time" US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Chinese President Xi Jinping as he called for Beijing's intervention to halt escalating tensions with North Korea.

He wants China - historically Pyongyang's ally - to increase its pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to back down.

Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since December, when North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it conducted its third nuclear test and drew fresh UN sanctions.

Without naming any countries, President Xi had said recently that "no-one should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains".

Mr Kerry with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

In his opening remarks during Saturday's meeting, President Xi assured Mr Kerry China's relationship with the US was "at a new historical stage" and had "got off to a good start".

According to state television, he went on to say that rising tensions in the region were in no-one's interests.

"All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and be responsible for the consequences," he was reported to have said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-UN has vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal

The top US diplomat also discussed the crisis with Premier Li Keqiang and other members of China's communist leadership.

Earlier, Mr Kerry was greeted by China's foreign minister Wang Yi after flying in from talks in Seoul with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, where he warned North Korea a further missile test would be a "huge mistake".

"Obviously there are enormously challenging issues in front of us, and I look forward to having that conversation with you today," Mr Kerry told Mr Wang.

His foreign counterpart agreed the visit came at a "critical moment".

Mr Kerry was first met by China's foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing

Mr Kerry is seeking to persuade Beijing to help rein in its aggressive ally and bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table over its suspect nuclear programme.

"I think it's clear to everybody in the world that no country in the world has as close a relationship or as significant an impact on the DPRK than China," Mr Kerry said earlier in Seoul before leaving for Beijing.

In the past few weeks, North Korea has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US

China has backed North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War and could wield tremendous leverage over the isolated communist regime thanks to the vital aid it provides, including almost all of its neighbour's energy imports.

North Korean soldiers seen at work today on Hwanggumpyong Island

It is estimated to provide as much as 90% of its neighbour's energy imports, 80% of its consumer goods and 45% of its food, according to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations.

But analysts say it is wary of pushing too hard for fear of destabilising North Korea, which could send a wave of hungry refugees flooding into China and ultimately lead to a reunified Korea allied with the United States.

Sky's Alex Rossi said: "John Kerry will have to walk a bit of a tightrope when it comes to the Chinese. He can't go there and make demands. China is a superpower these days so he is going to have to incentivise them.

"Officials suggest one of the ways he may do this is by saying the Americans may draw back from this region if the Chinese pick up the mantle and are more responsible for the security in the area - that is probably something that would go down quite well.

South Korean army soldiers standing guard on Unification Bridge in Paju

"Certainly the feeling is that the Chinese - as the only ally of North Korea - hold the key for de-escalating tensions."

After China, Mr Kerry will head to Japan which is also deeply involved in the North Korea issue and which deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo this week as anticipation of a missile launch by the North's mounted.

Mr Kerry said he hoped China, Japan and the United States would be able to find the "unity" required to offer a "very different set of alternatives for how we can proceed and ultimately how we can defuse this situation".

Last week the US brought forward its drone deployment to Japan and sent an unmanned spy plane to its airbase in Misawa, Northern Japan, after North Korea moved two missile launchers to its east coast.

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