Deng Yuwen, the deputy editor of Study Times, the journal of China\u2019s Central Party School, has added his voice to criticism of North Korea among the influential Chinese elite.<\/p>\n
Writing in the UK-based Financial Times, he wrote, \u201cNorth Korea\u2019s third nuclear test is a good moment for China to re-evaluate its longstanding alliance with the Kim dynasty. For several reasons, Beijing should give up on Pyongyang and press for the reunification of the Korean peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that their current, ideologically premised bilateral relationship presents very real dangers for China, that North Korea is no longer a valid Chinese geopolitical ally and that Pyongyang is neither willing nor able to reform the country, he declared, \u201cNorth Korea is pulling away from Beijing. The Chinese like to view their relationship with Pyongyang through their shared sacrifice during the Korean War instead of reality. They describe it as a \u2018friendship sealed in blood\u2019. But North Korea does not feel like this at all towards its neighbour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs early as the 1960s, North Korea rewrote the history of the war,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cTo establish the absolute authority of Kim Il Sung, its founder, North Korea removed from historical record the contribution of the hundreds of thousands of sons and daughters of China who sacrificed themselves to beat the UN troops back to the 38th parallel that now divides the peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKim Il Sung was given all the credit for the offensive,\u201d he went on. \u201cFor the North Korean people, shaking off the \u2018Chinese bond\u2019 was seen as an expression of independence and autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adding, \u201cIt is entirely possible that a nuclear-armed North Korea could try to twist China\u2019s arm if Beijing were to fail to meet its demands or if the US were to signal goodwill towards it,\u201d he therefore concluded, \u201cChina should consider abandoning North Korea. The best way of giving up on Pyongyang is to take the initiative to facilitate North Korea\u2019s unification with South Korea. Bringing about the peninsula\u2019s unification would help undermine the strategic alliance between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul; ease the geopolitical pressure on China from northeast Asia; and be helpful to the resolution of the Taiwan question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, \u201cThe next best thing would be to use China\u2019s influence to cultivate a pro-Beijing government in North Korea, to give it security assurances, push it to give up nuclear weapons and start moving towards the development path of a normal country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Deng Yuwen, the deputy editor of Study Times, the journal of China\u2019s Central Party School, has added his voice to criticism of North Korea among the influential Chinese elite. Writing in the UK-based Financial Times, he wrote, \u201cNorth Korea\u2019s third nuclear test is a good moment for China to re-evaluate its longstanding alliance with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151,"featured_media":22803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n