China Blames U.S. for North Korea Threat, Questions Sanctions

China deflected criticism that it could do more to stifle North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, questioning the effectiveness of sanctions and saying the U.S. has a responsibility to fix a problem it created.

“The crux of the Korean nuclear issue lies not in China but in the U.S. as this issue is nothing but conflict between the DPRK and the U.S.," China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing in Beijing on Monday, using an acronym for North Korea. She was responding to calls by President Barack Obama for China to tighten up sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime prior to its fifth -- and biggest -- nuclear test last week.