(Bloomberg) — Talks between U.S. and Chinese officials over North Korea’s weapons program got a boost from a meeting between senior officials in Rome on Monday.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi agreed their staffs should be in touch in the near future over concerns about Pyongyang’s recent acceleration in missile tests, according to a U.S. official who briefed reporters on the six-hour conversation, which focused largely on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The administration official cited missiles tests by North Korea as an escalating situation demanding the attention of both Washington and Beijing. North Korea could launch an ICBM as soon as this week, the Yonhap News Agency reported, in what would be its most serious provocation in five years as South Korea undergoes a presidential transition and the world focuses on the war in Ukraine.
The talks in Rome came just over a week after North Korea completed what the U.S. says was the second test of new intercontinental ballistic missile technology that prompted fresh American sanctions. North Korea said it conducted reconnaissance satellite tests during launches on Feb. 26 and March 4.
China has the closest economic and political ties with North Korea of any nation, though that doesn’t mean Kim Jong Un’s regime does Beijing’s bidding. The U.S. says it is prepared to engage in direct talks with North Korea but adds that its requests have so far been ignored.
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