China, US share goal of halting North Korean nuclear tests (China's Propaganda Outfit)

US President Donald Trump said to the media on Monday that "If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him [Kim Jong-un], I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it." He stressed that "If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."

His latest remarks have triggered great controversy in the US. White House press secretary Sean Spicer explained later that the right circumstances mean "We've got to see their provocative behavior ratcheted down immediately." But he also said that "Clearly, the conditions are not there right now."

Trump has envisioned a scenario which, from the US perspective, can hardly be achieved soon. But his words at least can help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Given the tense and sophisticated status quo on the peninsula, all stakeholders have made various statements, especially the US and North Korea. But they are difficult to verify, for instance, the outside world is not so clear about where the US' bottom line is. Perhaps it is that North Korea should not possess intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach US soil. The closer Pyongyang gets to this technology, the more likely it is that the US would come to a military confrontation with Pyongyang.

China's bottom line is clearer, which is that North Korea's nuclear activities shall never affect its northeastern region. Whenever North Korea conducts a larger-scale nuclear test than the previous time, northeastern China would be exposed to more risks. Therefore, China is firm in preventing North Korea from carrying out new nuclear tests through sanctions.

As nuclear weapons and missiles will combine, opposing North Korea's nuclear and missile advancement becomes a common concern of Beijing and Washington.

But the US is far from the Korean Peninsula. Many Chinese people worry that Washington is turning the North Korean nuclear issue into a trap and they keep a higher alert on Washington's tricks than on Pyongyang's development of nuclear and missile technologies.

It is possible that the US has ulterior motives in solving the nuclear issue and the worry of the Chinese people is reasonable. But compared to the potential impairment brought about by the US' geopolitical containment of China, the danger of potential nuclear contamination of China's northeast is more urgent.

As North Korea expands the scale of its nuclear tests, if there is ever a nuclear leak which proliferates to northeastern China, we can expect major social unrest, the impact of which would exceed that of any geopolitical turbulence.

We don't have to hype up social panic, but must keep vigilant to the risks, on which China's peninsula policy should be centered.

No matter how many divergences China and the US have, their cooperation around preventing new nuclear and missile activities by North Korea is of vital importance. Each should not be distracted by other petty calculations. Besides exerting pressure, the US should take the initiative to provide Pyongyang with security guarantees.

The North Korean nuclear issue is one of the biggest challenges for China in the near future, while the key to solving the dilemma is not in Beijing's hands. It tests China's wisdom and resolve to manage the situation.

KCNA critique won't ease mounting nuke tension

Source:Global Times Published: 2017/5/4 10:17:47

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a bylined editorial titled "Refrain from making reckless remarks undermining the DPRK-China relations" Wednesday night (Beijing time), slamming Chinese media by name for running articles North Korean officials felt constituted "a wanton violation of the independent and legitimate rights, dignity and supreme interests" of North Korea.

This is the third time in recent months the KCNA has published a bylined editorial critical of China. Unlike the first two pieces that did not mention China or any names of Chinese media outlets, this latest one did.

The KCNA piece defended North Korea's nuclear program. It also refuted Chinese media allegations over the threat of safety from nuclear tests being conducted in close proximity to northeastern China as having no scientific merit. The reasons given in the editorial include the previous five nuclear tests that have had no impact on North Koreans living close to the nuclear test site, and how the US has detected no radiation pollution, even with the most advanced tools.

The editorial also lashed out at whom it called "some ignorant politicians and media persons" in China over their views on how North Korean nuclear actions have "posed a threat" to the national interest of China. "It is just the DPRK whose strategic interests have been repeatedly violated due to insincerity and betrayal on the part of its partner, not China at all," it claimed.

The article went on to criticize how the diplomatic relationship between China and South Korea has turned northeastern China, and even China as a whole, into an anti-DPRK environment. The piece claimed that the northeast has become rife with South Koreans engaging in threatening activities such as kidnapping and terrorism against North Korea. The article was also critical of the time China invited then-South Korean president Park Geun-hye to attend the 2015 military parade at Tiananmen Square.

The KCNA editorial made it a point to stress how North Korea has been standing on the front lines of the war against the US for a long time. “China should acknowledge in an honest manner that the DPRK has just contributed to protecting peace and security of China, foiling the US scheme for aggression by waging a hard fight in the frontline of the showdown with the US for more than seven decades, and thank the DPRK for it," the editorial claimed.

The piece then concluded with, "China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations."

The KCNA opinion piece contains no new substantive information, except mentioning the names of China, People's Daily, and Global Times and expressing a stronger disgruntling. It did not mention China's support for the United Nations sanctions against North Korea. Nor did it state Pyongyang's next step to take. Overall, the editorial is nothing more than a hyper-aggressive piece completely filled with nationalistic passion.

Pyongyang obviously is grappling with some form of irrational logic over its nuclear program. Beijing does not need to engage in a tit-for-tat argument with Pyongyang. However, it should express its own opinions regardless of what Pyongyang has said.

Beijing needs to make China’s standing and position very clear to Pyongyang, either on an official or grassroots level. It needs to address with Pyongyang its concerns and bottom line. It should also make Pyongyang aware that it will react in unprecedented fashion if Pyongyang conducts another nuclear test. Beijing should not hesitate in delivering this message, and there is certainly no need to debate this issue back and forth with Pyongyang.

The differences and contradictions between China and North Korea will not be solved through any sort of argumentative effort. Beijing can see from the KCNA editorial that Pyongyang does not understand the real meaning of "national interest" when it comes to the big picture of Chinese diplomacy. Nor does it understand Beijing's deep concern for the potential risks posed by Pyongyang's nuclear tests to people living in northeastern China.

It is also evident from the KCNA editorial that Pyongyang's criticisms reveal the true feelings it has over its position as an isolated environment. It is mainly due to this last point that any attempt North Korea makes in voicing opinions and feelings through media outlets will have limited effect in helping the country understand outside opinions from the rest of the world regarding its nuclear program.

Beijing and Pyongyang need to pursue higher levels of dialogue with one another. It is only through such efforts that Pyongyang can be pulled out of the blind ally it insists on remaining in, especially when the country considers nuclear weapons "as precious as its own life," as it put in the article.

It really does not matter that much when Pyongyang publicly voices its criticisms of Beijing. What really matters is what will Pyongyang's next move be. As of right now, Pyongyang has not conducted its sixth nuclear test. It was also comparatively restrained when it launched intercontinental ballistic missiles in April.

In this current situation, uncertainties loom over the positions of North Korea and the US. Beijing needs to be fully aware of what those positions are, and then seek to help both parties resolve this ongoing security dilemma. China's proposed "double suspension” seeks to assist in US efforts to get the related parties back to the negotiation table.

The direction of China-North Korea relations remains in the hands of China. Whether KCNA editorials mention China or Chinese media by name or not, those missions will not change the inherent logic and trend of a relationship that has been in place for over six decades. The more editorials KCNA publishes, the better Chinese society will be able to understand how Pyongyang thinks, and how hard it is to solve this nuclear issue.

Is China-North Korea friendship treaty outdated?

Source:Global Times Published: 2017/5/3 22:48:39

With tensions around the Korean Peninsula escalating, how the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty functions and what Beijing's attitude is toward it have triggered heated discussions both within and outside China.

The treaty was signed by the two governments in 1961 and renewed in 1981 and 2001. The most recent renewal will remain in effect until 2021. Article 2 of the treaty says: "The two parties undertake jointly to adopt all measures to prevent aggression against either party by any state." It also provides that "in the event of one of the parties being subjected to armed attack by any state or several states together and thus being involved in a state of war, the other party shall immediately render military and other assistance by all means at its disposal."

The treaty has played an indispensable role in ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula over the years. South Korea had expected to dominate the process of unifying the peninsula. The US and South Korea had made several plans to launch military attacks on North Korea. The treaty has served as a buffer to prompt Seoul and Washington to cool down.

Since the treaty was renewed last time, the divergences between China and North Korea over the latter's nuclear development have sharpened. There have been debates over whether the treaty is outdated in the Chinese and international opinion sphere.

But upon the 55th anniversary of the signing of the treaty in 2016, Chinese and North Korean leaders exchanged messages, which caught world attention.

On Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang responded to questions concerning the treaty, saying the treaty aims to "promote friendly cooperation between the two countries in various fields and safeguard regional peace and security."

The precondition of peace is a stable geopolitical structure. In recent years, South Korea, Japan and the US have re-engaged in the geopolitical game in Northeast Asia. The treaty has somewhat supported structural stability in Northeast Asia. South Korea and the US have repeatedly hyped up the prospect of the collapse of Pyongyang's regime. Some have tried to exclude China's interests from the future landscape of the peninsula, while the treaty indicates that such thinking only leads to a dead end.

Pyongyang should cherish the treaty and make it one of the foundations for its national security. North Korea's pursuit of nuclear technology has impaired its own security as well as the region's, and it has also jeopardized China's national security. This has violated the principles of the treaty.

The treaty firmly opposes aggression. But North Korea insists on developing nuclear weapons and conducting missile launches in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which increases the risks of military clashes with the US. The situation has changed a lot compared with that of 2001 when the treaty was renewed.

North Korea needs to end its nuclear tests. South Korea and the US should stop their aggressive military threats against Pyongyang. Both sides should contribute to peace and stability on the peninsula. China is geographically adjacent to the peninsula. If there is war, China will face the risk as well.

China will not allow its northeastern region to be contaminated by North Korea's nuclear activities. Nor will it allow changes to the peninsula structure through non-peaceful means.

China has not imposed full-scale sanctions on any country and the Chinese people have stayed away from war for years. The world has seen China's strength gaining momentum. China respects all countries, but no country should underestimate China's determination.

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