John Kerry to meet China8217;s top leaders to discuss North Korea

As the North8217;s main trading partner,financial backer and the closest thing it has to a diplomatic ally,China has a unique ability to use its leverage against the impoverished,isolated state,Kerry said in the South Korean capital Seoul late on Friday. 8220;There is no group of leaders on the face of the planet who have more capacity to make a difference in this than the Chinese,and everybody knows it,including,I believe,them,8221; Kerry told U.S. executives.

8220;They want to see us try to reach an amicable resolution to this,8221; he said. 8220;But you have to begin with a reality,and the reality is that if your policy is denuclearization 8211; and it is theirs as it is ours as it is everybody8217;s except the North8217;s at this moment if that8217;s your policy,you8217;ve got to put some teeth into it,8221; he said. Kerry is scheduled to see the top echelon of China8217;s leadership on Saturday,including President Xi Jinping,Premier Li Keqiang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi,China8217;s top diplomat who outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

In remarks before reporters at the first meeting,neither Kerry nor Wang directly referred to North Korea,though the trip had 8220;come at a critical moment8221;,Wang said. 8220;Obviously there are enormously challenging issues in front of us and I look forward to having that conversation with you today to do exactly what you said 8211; lift this conversation up,broaden it,set a road map,define for both of us what the model relationship would be and how two great powers,China and the United States,can work effectively to solve problems,8221; Kerry told Wang.

Kerry8217;s visit to Asia,which will include a stop in Tokyo on Sunday,takes place after weeks of shrill North Korean threats of war since the imposition of new U.N. sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February. North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said on Friday were its 8220;treasured8221; guarantor of security.

8220;HUGE MISTAKE8221;

Beijing has been reluctant to apply pressure on Pyongyang,fearing the instability that could result if the North were to implode and send floods of refugees into China. However,U.S. officials believe China8217;s rhetoric on North Korea has begun to shift, pointing to a recent speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping in which without referring explicitly to Pyongyang 8211; he said no country 8220;should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gain.8221; Kerry,who arrived in China early on Saturday,told reporters in Seoul that if North Korea8217;s 30-year-old leader went ahead with the launch of a medium-range missile,he would be making 8220;a huge mistake.8221;

Kerry8217;s visit coincided with preparations for Monday8217;s anniversary of North Korean state founder Kim Il-Sung8217;s birth,a possible pretext for a show of strength,with speculation focusing on a possible new intermediate missile test launch. At a news conference in Seoul on Friday and in a U.S.-South Korean joint statement issued on Saturday,Kerry signalled the U.S. preference for diplomacy to end the tensions,but stressed North Korea must take 8220;meaningful8221; steps on denuclearization.

8220;We will continue to encourage North Korea to make the right choice. If North Korea does so,we are prepared to implement the commitments under the 2005 Six-Party Joint Statement,8221; it added,referring to the aid-for-denuclearization agreement. The United States and its allies believe the North violated the 2005 deal by conducting a nuclear test in 2006 and pursuing a uranium enrichment program that would give it a second path to a nuclear weapon in addition to its plutonium-based programme.