US and China in ‘robust conversation’ on North Korea sending troops to Russia: Blinken

Beijing urged to do more to curb ‘provocative’ actions taken by its close partners Moscow and Pyongyang, says America’s top diplomat

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Published: 7:07am, 1 Nov 2024Updated: 8:09am, 1 Nov 2024

US and China are engaged in high-level dialogue regarding North Korea sending troops to Russia as the Kremlin wages war on Ukraine, America’s top diplomat said on Thursday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described “a robust conversation” with China taking place this week about Moscow and Pyongyang’s military cooperation in the Ukraine war.

Blinken urged Beijing to “do more” to curb “provocative” actions being taken by two of its closest partners.

“I think they know well the concerns that we have and the expectations that, both in word and deed, they’ll use the influence that they have to work to curb these activities. So we’ll see if they take action,” Blinken said of China after a meeting he and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin held with their South Korean counterparts in Washington.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul at the State Department in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

His remarks came after a New York Times report on Thursday said his deputy, Kurt Campbell, and other State Department officials met Chinese diplomats “for several hours” in the residence of Xie Feng, Beijing’s envoy to Washington, on Tuesday.