By Chung Min-uck
China, North Korea’s only remaining ally, is slowly distancing itself from North Korea following its Feb. 12 nuclear test, Chinese experts said Wednesday.
“Beijing has been exerting efforts to establish its image as a ‘responsible great power’ globally,” said Li Dan, an international studies professor at Pukyoung National University in Busan. “In that sense, China will try to restrain any security threats coming from North Korea and string along with the international community.”
“China’s foreign policy is strictly based on its national interest,” said Jin Jingyi, a professor at Peking University in Beijing. “When Pyongyang’s military provocations surpass a height that can harm its own national interest, Beijing can change its posture. China’s support of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution proves that.”
The UNSC announced a resolution early this month condemning the North and planning to tighten sanctions against the Stalinist regime for its latest nuclear provocation.
China has expressed a critical view of North Korea’s latest actions via its state media and words from renowned pundits there, and did not block the international body from penalizing the North.
In the past, China had stood up for its neighbor.
A diplomatic source who often travels to Beijing and Pyongyang said China has conceived Pyongyang’s February nuke test as “crossing the red line,” meaning supporting the isolated regime’s irresponsible acts has come to a point where there is more harm than benefit to China’s national interest.
“Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats can lead to more regional participation in a Washington-led missile defense (MD) system or Japan’s rearmament,” Jin said. “It could also bring a nuclear domino effect in the Northeast Asia region. Those are totally against China’s interest.”
Commenting on Seoul’s position, experts said it should strike a balance between Beijing and Washington.
“From the viewpoint of South Korea, it should prioritize balanced development in its relationship between China and the U.S.,” Li said.
The world’s most populous country considers the military alliance between South Korea and the U.S. a threat to its national security since in the event of unification between the two Koreas, around 28,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in South Korea would come within closer range of China. Beijing has long considered Pyongyang a “buffer zone” against the U.S. military.
The Mutual Defense Treaty between South Korea and the United States was forged in 1953 as a deterrent against North Korea and communist expansion in the region.
“The Cold War structure prevailing in the region cannot be resolved simply in a Cold War way,” Jin said. “The ties between the North and other nations in the region should be normalized, and China and the U.S. should advance their cooperative partnership.”