By Kim Young-jin
A majority of South Koreans believe China, not the United States, is the nation’s most important partner in improving rocky relations with North Korea, a poll showed Wednesday.
According to the survey conducted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies (AIPS), 51.1 percent of respondents said Beijing — the North’s main ally — was the most important country to partner with over the Stalinist state compared with 35.3 percent who said the U.S.
The data comes amid signs of deepening cooperation between the communist allies after the death of Kim Jong-il and as Beijing continues to push for resumption of six-party talks to deal with the North’s nuclear program.
It also comes despite declining trust in Beijing after it protected the North from U.N. sanctions for the deadly 2010 sinking of the warship Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island as well as the recent killing of a South Korean Coast Guard by a Chinese fisherman.
Analysts say that in recent years the North has pivoted towards China after decades of seeking better relations with the U.S. This came as the late Kim traveled multiple times to his giant neighbor in his waning days to shore up support for his son, current leader Kim Jong-un.
He is also suspected to have sought economic support in preparations for major celebrations in April to observe the 100th birth anniversary of country founder Kim Il-sung, at which time the country has promised to emerge as “strong and prosperous.”
Reports have circulated that Beijing had agreed to provide massive food aid to stabilize its neighbor the day after Kim Jong-il’s death was announced.
Seoul, meanwhile, has remained in lockstep with Washington over dealing with the North, with the allies insisting it take concrete denuclearization steps and warm cross-border ties before any resumption of multilateral negotiations.
The poll showed that conservatives here are split over which country was the most important partner regarding the North, with only 0.2 percent more respondents citing the U.S. Among liberals, 15 percent more respondents cited Beijing over Washington.
On Seoul’s policy, AIPS polls taken before and after Kim’s Dec. 17 death showed a dramatic decrease in support for a hard line towards the North while those supporting engagement rose.
President Lee Myung-bak ended a decade of engagement by tying aid to denuclearization steps; a move many believe increased tensions ahead of the attacks. Since Kim’s passing, the South has maintained its “flexible” approach, allowing select civilian groups to deliver flour to the impoverished state.
According to the poll, those supporting a “harder line” policy fell from 40.3 to 19 percent. Some 56 percent said they favored the resumption of aid in the form of food or fertilizer.
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