China must end business with North Korea: US

The United States called on China to end “business as usual” with its ally North Korea after Pyongyang defied world powers by saying it had tested a hydrogen bomb, while South Korea prepared to retaliate by broadcasting propaganda across the border.

South Korea, which has grown increasingly close to China in recent years, said its foreign minister would speak with his Chinese counterpart later on Friday.

US secretary of state John Kerry said on Thursday he had made clear in a phone call with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that China’s approach to North Korea has not succeeded.

“China had a particular approach that it wanted to make, that we agreed and respected to give them space to implement that,” Kerry told reporters. “On Friday in my conversation with the Chinese I made it very clear that has not worked and we cannot continue business as usual.”

China is the North’s main economic and diplomatic backer, although relations between the two Cold War allies have cooled in recent years. China’s foreign ministry said after the call with Kerry that Beijing was willing to communicate with all parties, including the United States.

“Wang Yi stressed that China has staunchly dedicated itself to the goal of the peninsula’s decentralization and to maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a short statement.