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The Inquiry

Can China solve the North Korea problem?

The Inquiry

BBC

News Commentary, News

4.61.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2017

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

North Korea continues to rattle the world with its rapidly advancing weapons programme. Diplomacy with this Hermit Kingdom is broken and UN sanctions have little effect curtailing the nuclear ambitions of the country’s enigmatic leader Kim Jong–Un. As its closest neighbour and biggest ally, can China solve the growing threat - with whatever options remain?

(image: Chinese/N.Korean sign beside the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting the Chinese border city of Dandong to North Korea over the Yalu river. Credit: Mark Ralston/Getty Images)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to the inquiry on the BBC World Service.

0:07.0

Each week we bring you four expert witnesses answering one pressing question from the news. At 7 a.m. last Friday morning in Japan's Hokkaido region,

0:22.0

mobile phones everywhere began to buzz.

0:25.2

Millions of residents were receiving the same text message.

0:29.2

Misaidhasha.

0:31.2

Misaidhasha. Misai has shot. Misai is sha.

0:33.0

Misai launched.

0:36.0

It seems that a missile has been launched from North Korea.

0:39.0

Please evacuate to a building with strong structure.

0:42.0

Seven tense minutes later. evacuate to a building with strong structure.

0:42.5

Seven, tense minutes later, another text came through.

0:46.4

Misai Rzuka, Misal passed.

0:50.2

It seems that a missile has passed Hokkaido area and landed in the Pacific Ocean.

0:55.0

This year, North Korea has conducted more than a dozen missile tests and

1:00.0

detonated a suspected nuclear bomb.

1:03.7

World leaders are struggling to find a way to stop them.

1:07.2

U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric, telling the United Nations this week that the US would destroy North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies.

1:18.0

He also had a message for North Korea's leader.

1:21.0

Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself.

1:26.0

And in an interview a few weeks ago with Fox News, President Trump expressed his frustration that

1:31.6

China isn't doing more.

1:34.0

China is total control, believe me, they say they don't, they have total control over North Korea,

...

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