White House reacts to possible China sale

The Obama administration says it believes that a Chinese manufacturer sold North Korea the chassis and other parts for a missile-transport vehicle displayed in a military parade this week,a senior official said Friday,raising concerns about China’s ability to enforce a military sales ban on North Korea.

Describing the sale as an “embarrassment” for Beijing,the official said the White House would tighten pressure on the Chinese government to better enforce United Nations sanctions forbidding the sale of weapons or technology to North Korea aiding ballistic and nuclear programmes.

“We think this is poor performance in sanctions implementation,and not willful proliferation,” said the official.

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Defense Secretary Leon E Panetta,testifying Thursday before the House Armed Services Committee,said that American intelligence had not determined what North Korea’s capabilities were. But he said,“I’m sure there’s been some help from China.”

Geng Shuang, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington,denied violation of UN sanctions. “We have our own export control regime,which has been strictly implemented,” he said.