Anchor: Tension is building between the U.S. and China over the North Korean nuclear issue. President-elect Donald Trump slammed China for not helping to solve the issue while engaging in what he called "one-sided trade" between Washington and Beijing. China rejected that claim.
Park Jong-hong has the details.
 
Report: In a message posted to Twitter on Tuesday, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump berated China.

He claimed that China has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the U.S. in "totally one-sided trade," but won't help its ally North Korea.

The tweet came just after he addressed North Korea’s statement on New Year's Day that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S., adding that is not going to happen.

Political pundits say Trump, in effect, asserted that China has been sitting idly by as North Korea pushed ahead with nuclear development.

China’s Foreign Ministry refuted the claim in response.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang said China has been making enormous efforts to preserve peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promote a proper settlement of the nuclear issue.
 
[Soundbite: Geng Shuang - Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman (Chinese)]
"Besides, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has taken an active part in all deliberations concerning the Korean nuclear issue, and supported the passage of several resolutions pertinent to the issue along with other members."
 
He added that the North Korean nuclear issue should be dealt with by the six-party talks that comprise not only the U.S. and China but also both Koreas, Japan and Russia.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump had blamed China for the worsening the matter of the North's nuclear-weapon development.

After he is sworn in as America's 45th president on January 20th, Trump is widely expected to up the ante regarding U.S. trade policies toward China, leading to even icier relations between the world's two biggest economies.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.

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