U.S. President Joe Biden will tell his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at their upcoming meeting in Bali (Indonesia) on Monday that the U.S. military will expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region if Beijing does not help defuse tensions with North Korea.
Speaking shortly before arriving at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that any further North Korean missile tests would «simply lead to an increased US military and security presence in the region.
«It is therefore in China’s interest to play a constructive role in containing North Korea’s worst vices. Whether or not Beijing chooses to do so is up to them,» Sullivan said, before adding that Biden has no intention of imposing anything on the Chinese president, but «simply explaining his perspective on the issue».
The advisor explained, in statements reported by Bloomberg, that Biden and Xi have discussed North Korea on many occasions, but the enormous activity exhibited by Pyongyang in recent times in terms of tests — more than 60 launches since the beginning of the year — has increased the tension to unimaginable levels.
According to Sullivan, «the operational situation is more serious at the present time because of the pace of these missile tests and because of the imminent threat of a possible nuclear test, the seventh nuclear test,» he said of the numerous reports from South Korean security sources that have surfaced recently about a possible North Korean test of an atomic weapon.
For the adviser, Monday’s meeting, the first time the two leaders will meet in person since Biden’s arrival at the White House, «is not the end of the line, but the beginning of a series of engagements that will also include more leader-to-leader meetings in the future.»
CHINA PROMISES CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE On the other hand, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has promised South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol that his country will play a «constructive role» in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their meeting in Cambodia, according to the official South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Li’s comment came after Yoon expressed concern over North Korea’s recent actions, according to government sources present at the meeting on condition of anonymity.
