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Will China Convince N. Korea to Return to Bargaining Table?

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South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea in anticipation that Pyongyang will soon conduct a fifth nuclear test. The speculation might create bigger political waves than North Korea expects.

Its most recent missile launch from a submarine has the South Korean and U.S. governments concerned. South Korea says it was an explicit provocation and demands Pyongyang to stop.

"Our government again strongly urges North Korea to stop making absurd claims...and stop all additional provocative actions, including nuclear tests," Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck said.

Regent University International Affairs professor Dr. Philip Bom said the United States should continue urging China to pressure North Korea to halt its missile and nuclear weapons programs.

"China is an ideological partner to China," Bom told CBN News. "China has approved U.S. resolutions to impose sanctions upon North Korea. However, there are many steps to make it work. If China were to indeed impose sanctions on North Korea in words and in deeds, we could see some improvement."

China says it supports international sanctions against North Korea, but some critics say Beijing is not enforcing those sanctions.

Meanwhile, North Korea claims they're willing to halt nuclear weapons testing if South Korea suspends its annual war games with the U.S. military.

"Stop the military exercises, war exercises, in the Korean Peninsula, and we will respond likewise," North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong said.

The South Korean government believes North Korea is trying to prevent further discussion about sanctions. South Korean officials, meanwhile, say they'll keep an open dialogue with the North to reduce the political tensions.

At a recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Barack Obama said China and the United States are both committed to implementing U.N. sanctions against North Korea.

"Of great importance to all of us is North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons, which threatens the security and stability of the region," Obama told the press. "And President Xi and I are both committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and full implementation of U.N. sanctions."

Although many believe North Korea is unlikely to halt its nuclear weapons program, the United States will continue to press for negotiations. And China may be the only hope to convince North Korea to return to the bargaining table.

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