A gulf between two supposed allies _ North Korea and China _ appears to be widening amid the greater collaboration between the United States and China following the April 7 Donald Trump-Xi Jinping summit. There is every reason to exploit this gap to isolate the North further and force it to give up its nuclear and missile programs.
The latest sign comes from the Global Times, a Chinese government mouthpiece, about Beijing having no obligation to help its ally if the U.S. makes a surgical strike to take out the North’s weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
By treaty, Beijing is supposed to defend Pyongyang in the event of an outside invasion so the assertion is rather surprising. But experts say the North Korea-China mutual defense treaty only covers conventional war, meaning the Chinese leadership believes the North’s WMDs violate the treaty’s spirit of preserving the peace.
Chinese media have talked about the need to cut off the oil supply to the North if it conducts a sixth nuclear test or fires an intercontinental ballistic missile. Amid the U.S. adoption of “maximum pressure” against it, the North ended up not carrying out a nuclear test on the 105th birthday of its founder Kim Il-sung on April 15. The world is waiting to see whether the North will go ahead with the test on April 25, the anniversary of the North’s Army foundation.
Residents near the site in Punggye-ri have been evacuated with preparations for a test completed, according to reports.
China has already rejected coal imports, sending them back to the North. Without Chinese oil supplies, it is a matter of time before the North is paralyzed. Without coal exports to China, Pyongyang will be starved of foreign currency that is pivotal to purchasing weapons components.
China joined the United Nations’ condemnation of a failed April 15 missile test, with the missile exploding after lift-off.
China is now coming to its senses after being cajoled by President Trump into facing the outlook of the internecine catastrophe at the end of the North’s brinkmanship. It is important for the rest of the world to encourage China to stop condoning the North’s wanton behavior and force the country to realize there is no other choice but to give up its nuclear weapons and missiles if it wants to survive.