China's ambassador to the United States has expressed clear opposition to efforts to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights abuses, saying the move amounts to meddling in the North's internal affairs.
  
"Other countries, including United States and China, should not try to interfere into the domestic affairs of North Korea. You could have your own opinion, but ultimately it's up to the Korean people to decide," Amb. Cui Tiankai said in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine.
  
"I don't think its helpful or constructive if there's efforts -- whether in the ICC or elsewhere -- trying to complicate this matter. We should focus on denuclearization and stability," he said, according to an interview transcript published Tuesday.
   
It has been known that China is opposed to punishing the North at the ICC for human rights violations. Still, it was seen as unusual for China's top envoy to Washington to express objections in such a critical tone, just days before U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Beijing.
  
The European Union, Japan and other countries have been seeking to adopt a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling for referring the North to the ICC. But actual referral is unlikely because the resolution cannot win endorsement from the U.N. Security Council as China is sure to veto it.
  
Cui stressed that making the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons should be the priority.
  
"What we stress is, first, denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula. Number two, peace and stability. Number three, a peaceful resolution of the issue through negotiation and dialogue,"
he said. 
  
China is North Korea's last remaining major ally and a key provider of food and fuel. But it has been reluctant to use its influence for fear that pushing the regime too hard could result in instability and hurt Chinese national interests.
  
Analysts say that China has often increased pressure on the North, especially when Pyongyang defies international appeals and carried out nuclear tests and other provocative acts, but never went as far as to cause real pain to the North.
  
Cui also raised suspicions that the U.S. is behind pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
  
"There are individuals and groups in the United States who are really involved in the situation in Hong Kong. They could be very deeply involved. If you ask them, they might deny it, but I wonder if they can deny this with a clear conscience," he said.
 
Asked if he suspects the U.S. State Department is involved, Cui said he knows that the U.S. government has denied any involvement in the protests and "we very much hope that we could really count on that."
  
The Chinese envoy also criticized the Hong Kong protests, saying the issue there is "not democracy, but the rule of law."
   
"People's normal life and social order is disrupted. This is hurting the rule of law in Hong Kong. Without rule of law, there's no democracy," he said.
   
Cui also rejected views that China's government is not elected by the people, saying the only difference is that the two countries have different election systems.
  
"In the United States, you could have somebody just a few years ago totally unknown to others, and all of a sudden he or she could run for very high office," he said. "But in China, it takes much longer to win the hearts and mind of the people. You have really to work up, work all the way up to the top."
   
The ambassador said that Obama and Xi are in "very close communication with each other" and are expected to discuss at next week's summit ways to increase cooperation on climate change, the Ebola virus, counterterrorism and the North Korean and the Iranian nuclear issues. (Yonhap)