By David Volodzko
The idea that Beijing will abandon North Korea remains wishful thinking.
The idea going around in the West these days is that Beijing and Pyongyang are not on good terms. Given the regional importance and historic strength of this relationship, such claims deserve careful attention.
According to a 2015 European Council on Foreign Relations scorecard, China began distancing itself from North Korea after its 2013 nuclear test. China took further steps in 2014, meeting several times with South Korean leaders, including the July 2014 trip when Xi broke tradition by visiting Seoul before visiting Pyongyang. At the time, theAtlantic Sentinel reported that Xi is “distancing China” from Pyongyang, while The Guardian wrote, “China Snubs North Korea” and a New York Times headline read, “Chinese Annoyance with North Korea Bubbles to the Surface.” Other commentators went even further writing, “China Kinda Hates North Korea” or discussing “Why China Hates North Korea.”
Meanwhile, in an article for The Diplomat last February titled, “What China and North Korea Really Think of Each Other,” Kerry Brown reported on Xi’s “glaring” failure to visit Pyongyang and quoted Dear Leader, the memoir of former North Korean counter-intelligence operative Jang Jin-sung, who defected to South Korea in 2004. In his book, Jang says, “the country Kim Jong-il hates most is China.” So then, do Beijing and Pyongyang hate each other?
Read the full story at The Diplomat