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China and North Korea reaffirm ties following Obama tour
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AP Photo/Kyodo News
Less than a week after U.S. President Brarack Obama ended his Asian tour with a stop in South Korea, China and North Korea's respective defense ministers made a very public show of their military ties. According to the BBC, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said [n]o force on earth can break the unity of the armies and peoples of the two [China and North Korea] and it will last forever" while attending a reception in Pyongyang. He went on to add that the relationship had been "sealed in blood" when China and North Korea fought alongside one another during the Korean War.
North Korean Defense Chief Kim Yong-chun reportedly commented that "[i]t is the fixed stand of the Korean army and people to invariably consolidate and develop the DPRK (North Korea)-China friendship, which has stood all trials of history."
While the North Korean and Chinese posturing may seem ominous, especially with its proximity to President Obama's visit, there is a strong likelihood that it is rooted more in China's concerns about North Korea than any mutual feelings of belligerency. The BBC report noted that China is afraid of a Korean refugee crisis on its border if the North Korean state were to fail, and is anxious over North Korea's uncertain rules of succession and growing nuclear arsenal. China already donates immense amounts of food to North Korea each year to help shore up the country's notoriously inadequate food supply.
The public grandstanding could therefore serve simply to mask more grave, less public dialogue between the two nations.
One should also bear in mind that U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth is set to visit North Korea in two weeks.
China has long been a kind of intermediary with regards to North Korea's nuclear program - perhaps the only country North Korea sees as an "ally." The Chinese recently stated that North Korea had offered to return to six-party talks (involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.), depending on the state of its bilateral relations with the United States. In promoting its ties with North Korea, China advertises its power in the North Korea negotiations, and is thus able to challenge the United States' traditional dominance on the North Korea issue.
As China and the United States continue to compete in arenas as varied as trade and space, competition on North Korea should come as anything but a surprise.
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