Hwang Jang Yop, the President of the Committee for Democratization of North Korea, believes that current high-level, frequent interactions between North Korean and Chinese high officials, most recently Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie’s visit to Pyongyang on the 22nd, “are not a sign of a strengthening North Korea-China alliance.”

Hwang gave his perspective in a seminar on Tuesday, saying, “We cannot tell whether or not their alliance is getting stronger by just watching what they are doing. We do not even need to keep watching, because North Korea has always said that its friendship with China is unchangeable, and communications between the two countries’ high officials have been more intimate in the past than they are now.”

He said, “These days, Kim Jong Il is just trying to put on an ostentatious display. It means he feels weak. That is, he is trying to show off an alliance and a friendship with a powerful country because his system is still at a disadvantage.”

“It is not possible to break their alliance right away, but if we (South Korea) keep good relations with China, then the North Korea-China alliance might crack. From this point of view, signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China could be a fatal blow to Kim Jong Il,” he emphasized.

He noted, “People don’t seem to know that the FTA is a political investment. The benefits cannot be counted from a businessmen’s point of view. The liberation of 23 million people and bringing forward the day of unification are much more valuable than any possible numerical value, [which can be placed on an FTA with China].”

He recalled the case of the treaty of amity between South Korea and China, pointing out, “At that time, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il made a great fuss. They had me write criticisms to denounce it, so I know how much Kim Jong Il dreads a close relationship between China and South Korea.”

He reiterated, therefore, “Keeping a close relationship with China is the way to isolate Kim Jong Il.”

Since the North’s second nuclear test, North Korea-China relations had looked to be frozen, but with the recent resumption of high level official exchanges they have shown that their friendship is still close.

On the 22nd, in a meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Liang and North Korea’s Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Young Chun, the two countries both reconfirmed and stated their intention to strengthen their traditional friendly military cooperation. Before that, in October, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Pyongang and promised an unknown amount of economic aid.