OSLO—U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said China bears “great responsibility” for North Korea’s latest nuclear test and called on Beijing to use its influence and apply more pressure to stop Pyongyang’s behavior.
Mr. Carter also said he spoke with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and agreed that the international community will redouble pressure on North Korea by pursuing additional sanctions through the United Nations in response to the latest test, which Mr. Carter described as a “destabilizing and provocative act.”
“I’d single out China. It’s China’s responsibility,” Mr. Carter said at a press conference during an official visit to Norway. “China shares important responsibility for this development and has an important responsibility to reverse it. It’s important that it use its location, its history and its influence to further the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and not the direction things have been going.”
Mr. Carter’s comments step up the Obama administration’s rhetoric toward China on efforts to halt North Korea’s nuclear program.
U.S. officials believe the path to stopping North Korea from advancing its nuclear ambitions leads through China. A recent study found that North Korea has grown resistant to sanctions by building up its business operations inside China with relative freedom.
Mr. Carter said the U.S. also has improved its deterrence capabilities in South Korea and that U.S. forces stationed in the country always remain ready to “fight tonight.”
In addition to Patriot missiles and radar systems already in place in South Korea, the U.S. is moving forward with plans to deploy an advanced missile-defense system known as Thaad, or Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense. China has protested the move, but Mr. Carter said the U.S. is moving ahead.
Mr. Carter said the latest nuclear test “strengthens everyone’s resolve to do that quickly.”
He said Washington has embarked on a plan to increase the number and quality of ground-based missile defense systems stationed in the U.S. Mr. Carter also added that the U.S.’s allies in the region, including Japan and South Korea, enjoy the protection and deterrence of the American nuclear umbrella.
“We don’t wait for things to happen,” Mr. Carter said. “We anticipate that things will happen.”http://www.wsj.com/articles/ash-carter-says-china-shares-responsibility-for-north-korea-nuclear-test-1473438718
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