Wisdom and courage needed on Korean Peninsula

As an important party of the Six-Party Talks, China has been taking the overall situation into account, doing a lot of painstaking work, and staunchly advocating the resumption of the Six-Party Talks as soon as possible so as to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as long-term peace and stability in Northeast Asia. China's efforts as a responsible big power are obvious to all and deserve respect and positive responses from all parties concerned, says an editorial in People's Daily. Excerpts:

In response to a United Nations Security Council resolution on Jan 23 condemning the December rocket launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pyongyang said it is planning a third "higher level" nuclear test and more rocket launches aimed at the United States. The UN Security Council resolution also expanded existing UN sanctions.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula once again faces the risk of a sharp escalation, and once the situation is out of control, the consequences will be disastrous.

At this critical juncture, we emphasize the following principled positions: The authority of the UN Security Council resolutions needs to be respected, and all concerned parties should keep calm and act in a cautious and prudent way and refrain from taking any action that could lead to a progressive escalation of tensions.

The Korean Peninsula cannot withstand a new vicious cycle of tensions. All parties concerned should reflect seriously about this. Without thorough self-reflection and even self-blame, a necessary consensus cannot be reached, nor can the situation be kept from further deteriorating. All parties should keep cool heads.

Achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and normalization of relations between all countries concerned and building a peace mechanism in Northeast Asia are important aspects to create peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, a goal that is in the common interests of everyone concerned. The Six-Party Talks are an irreplaceable platform to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula.

As an important party in the Six-Party Talks, China has been taking the overall situation into account, doing a lot of painstaking work, staunchly advocating the resumption of the Six-Party Talks as soon as possible so as to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the long-term peace and stability in Northeast Asia. China's effort as a responsible big power is obvious to all and deserves respect and positive responses from all parties concerned.

A deed of derring-do is easy, but how to defuse a dangerous or tense situation is difficult. It is high time for the DPRK to rethink and muster the courage to make a decision.