Top US defence officials will urge China to support international pressure on North Korea in talks next week, a Pentagon official said on Friday. The US military delegation led by Michele Flournoy, under-secretary for defence, is due to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday in the first defence consultative talks between the two governments since December 2007, the official told reporters.
The Pentagon officials will also ask China to agree to more contacts between the countries' armed forces in hopes of building a more open dialogue and reducing tensions. "North Korea will factor in very strongly" in the talks, said the defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and missile launches have raised "great concern" in China, he said. "So I expect that we will be having extended discussions on matters where we can find common interest and can cooperate," the official said.
He said the United States was encouraged by China's support for a UN Security Council resolution adopted last week imposing tougher sanctions on Pyongyang. The UN resolution includes a ban on shipments of arms and nuclear or missile-related parts to and from North Korea, and calls on member states to carry out searches of vessels with suspected banned cargo.
"We would hope that China would use whatever influence they have with North Korea to convince them to change their behaviour," he said. "We also continue to look to China to continue and expand their support for the UN Security Council resolution that we all agreed to."
After China, the US delegation is due to head to Tokyo on June 25 to discuss the North Korean crisis with senior Japanese defence officials, the official said. In Beijing, Flournoy will seek to promote better US-China defence co-operation amid concerns in Washington over Beijing's expanding military and a series of stand-offs on the high seas.
Washington would like to see more high-level visits by Chinese defence officials and military officers to the United States "so we can understand their continuing build-up and make sure the conditions for stability and peace are maintained," the official said.
"The incidents between our ships and their ships are a matter of record and yes, that will be discussed," he said. A military maritime agreement already in place should provide a basis for resolving disputes at sea, the official said, adding that the talks would seek to ensure both countries are "operating in a safe and prudent manner."