China urged to step up efforts on climate

BEIJING, China—US climate envoy John Kerry was in Beijing on Monday to revive stalled talks and pressure China to step up its efforts to reduce planet-warming emissions.

Bilateral climate talks stalled last year after Nancy

Pelosi, then speaker of the US House of Representatives, enraged Beijing by visiting self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers to be part of its territory.

But Kerry, a former secretary of state, has enjoyed comparatively cordial and consistent relations with China despite Washington and Beijing locking horns over Taiwan and a number of other thorny issues.

He is likely to have his work cut out for him, however, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan telling CNN on Sunday that Kerry would press China not to “hide behind any kind of claim that they are a developing nation” in order to slow-roll efforts to cut emissions.

“Every country, including China, has a responsibility to reduce emissions,” Sullivan said. AFP

WASHINGTON, DC—The United States would not be surprised if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, following the regime’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile this past week, a senior White House official said Monday.

“I have been concerned for some time that North Korea would conduct what would be its seventh nuclear test going back multiple administrations. And I remain concerned about that,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CBS talk show “Face the Nation” in an interview.

“I don’t see any immediate indications that that’s going to happen,” he added.

“But it would not come as a surprise if North Korea moved forward with another nuclear test with respect to its intercontinental ballistic missile capability.”

Sullivan stressed that Pyongyang had begun testing its nuclear capacity several years ago and “they have continued to test it.”

North Korea said Thursday it successfully test-fired the reclusive country’s newest ICBM, with leader Kim Jong Un personally overseeing the launch.

The missile, a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 that had reportedly been testfired only once before, flew 1,001 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,648 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.