SEOUL – China and South Korea released conflicting statements regarding the denuclearization of North Korea, despite both sides using rhetoric that indicated Seoul and Beijing had reached consensus on the issue.

Park returned to Seoul on Monday morning after a long weekend of bilateral meetings with Chinese counterparts that were widely believed to have been dominated by discussion of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

“Li Keqiang said China is against North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, and wishes for a firm stance on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, something he said China would like to solve through the use