A New Direction for China’s North Korea Policy
Résumé
North Korea has made a habit of intentionally provoking its neighbors—including China, its sole remaining patron—and then offering conciliatory gestures to the international community. This means that North Korea has repeatedly taken actions that harm China’s national interests, but Beijing has continued to support Pyongyang.
It is time for China to break this cycle and reconsider how it engages North Korea. Shifting to a policy rooted in regional cooperation will offer China the best odds of effectively securing its own national interests, including promoting tangible steps toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula...