Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)

Washington requested a closed-door session, scheduled for July 5 at around 3PM New York time - to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The Trump administration wants China cracking down hard on Pyongyang, including tough sanctions, severing economic ties, and isolating the DPRK - policies far more extreme than anything Beijing and Russia will agree to.

Nor should any country support Washington’s imperial agenda. It’s the root cause of conflicts in multiple theaters, risking others - endless wars of aggression to advance its imperium.

On July 4, a joint Sino/Russian statement on the Korean peninsula reflects what both countries will propose to America and other Security Council members Wednesday afternoon - virtually certain to fall on US, UK and French deaf ears, these countries fundamentally opposed to conflict resolution anywhere.

Expressing concern about Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Russia and China urged resolving both issues diplomatically - categorically rejecting force, saying:

“Mounting (East Asia) political and military tension (risks) erupt(ing) (into) armed conflict. Moscow and Beijing “call on the international community to adopt collective measures to settle the situation peacefully through dialogue and consultations.”

They urged “renounc(ing) provocative moves (and) bellicose rhetoric,” instead called for “all countries concerned to maintain calm,” along with “demonstrat(ing) readiness for dialogue without preconditions, (and be willing to) work actively together to defuse tension.”

A joint Sino/Russia initiative urges “freezing” the DPRK nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as halting provocative US/South Korea military exercises - all sides agreeing to pursue diplomacy over confrontation to defuse tensions and normalize relations between Pyongyang and all nations concerned about its military programs.

“The Parties urge the international community to support (this) initiative…(They’re) committed (to) denucleariz(ing) the Korean peninsula…”

Russia and China intend working toward resolving outstanding concerns through “dialogue and consultations” - diplomacy over belligerence.

They stressed North Korea’s “justified concerns should be respected” - the only way to create an atmosphere conducive for resolving issues important to all sides.

“Any possibility of using military force (on) the Korean peninsula (must) be ruled out.” They oppose “any military presence of extra-regional forces in Northeast Asia and its build-up (on) the pretext of (confronting) the DPRK’s missile and nuclear programs.”

They stressed deployment of US THAAD anti-missile systems in South Korea “inflict(s) serious damage on strategic security interests of regional states, including Russia and China…”

They achieve nothing toward denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. They’re hugely provocative and destabilizing.

Russia and China called for halting the deployment process to ensure regional strategic balance.

Washington has been hostile toward North Korea for nearly seven decades - Trump administration policies more bellicose than any US administration since Truman’s era.

Russia, China and South Korea fear things may escalate to devastating war on the peninsula.

Lunatics infesting Washington may be rash enough to launch it, no matter the regional and global risks.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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