China has denounced the United States for rejecting North Korea’s proposal to temporarily suspend nuclear tests if the U.S. calls off its annual joint military exercises with South Korea.
 
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary on Sunday that Washington’s move to turn down Pyongyang’s proposal is of "no help whatsoever," in efforts to build trust and realize peace on the divided Korean Peninsula.
 
The commentary described the North’s proposal as well-intentioned aiming to peacefully settle crises on the Korean Peninsula. The commentary said the U.S. apparently decided to reject the proposal because it had failed to recognize the positive changes that could result if it accepted the offer.
 
The commentary then defended the North’s request for security guarantees as it said that all countries around the world including the North, which has been subject to sanctions for years, place top priority on national security.
 
The North suggested its latest proposal last Friday. The U.S. State Department rejected the offer, describing it as an “implicit threat.” The department said the North was “inappropriately" linking routine military exercises between Washington and Seoul to the possibility of a nuclear test.