China's United Nations envoy justified the country's act of vetoing the Security Council's new sanctions on Kim Jong-Un-led North Korea after the secretive nation fired ballistic missiles.
What Happened: The Beijing diplomat told Reuters that the country does not want to see North Korea carry out a new nuclear test, which is why it vetoed the new sanctions.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun also warned against making presumptions on how China may react at the United Nations if North Korea goes ahead with another nuclear test. "Let's see what will happen, but I think we should not prejudge what will happen with a nuclear test," Zhang said.
"The denuclearization is one of the key goals of China," he said, adding that the country "does not want to see another test."
According to Zhang, China's "basic position is very clear - sanctions don't solve the problems. Only with dialogue we see the improvement in the situation. With sanctions, we see the further deterioration."
This came two weeks after China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-led bid in the U.N. Security Council to impose more sanctions on North Korea.
Why It Matters: The U.S. has warned that Pyongyang may go for its first nuclear test since 2017. So far, the secretive country has fired 18 rounds of missile tests in 2022 alone.
The Biden Administration said it is "very closely" monitoring the continued possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea.
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