SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 26 (UPI) — Washington and Beijing have agreed to install a military hotline for emergency talks on North Korea, according to the Asahi Shimbun on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last month exchanged their views on how to deal with the North Korea nuclear crisis, the Japanese daily reported, citing Washington officials.
During their bilateral summit in Beijing, Trump and Xi reportedly agreed that North Korea will never be accepted as a nuclear state and that international pressure must continue until the regime gives up its nuclear ambition.
As a means of cooperation, the two heads of state decided to establish a direct line of communication between the United States Forces Korea based in Seoul and China’s army base in Shenyang, an eastern city that borders North Korea.
They also agreed to hold regular high-level meetings between military and intelligence officials to share information on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program as well as the impact of sanctions on the North Korean economy.
China pledged to update Washington on its progress of enforcing sanctions on the regime through various financial authorities every few months.
According to the paper, the two sides also planned to discuss contingency measures such as dealing with the North’s nuclear weapons and the possible outbreak of a refugee crisis upon conflict with the North or the collapse of the Kim Jong Un regime.
While Washington agreed to take more prudent steps in terms of military drills against the North, and “showed understanding” toward a “dialogue-based solution,” the paper reported that the U.S.-China partnership may waver if Beijing doesn’t provide sufficient information on its sanctions on the North.
