China-North Korea, Odd Blood Brothers

Pundits believe the nuclear issue of North Korea is creating a stir in the `traditional brotherhood relationship` between North Korea and China. Results of the coming 6 way talks will make a dramatic effect on the future relations of the two countries, experts point out.

In particular, if North Korea does not give up its nuclear ambitions, despite China`s active efforts to mediate, China`s leadership may give up maintaining their impartial stance and side with the United States to add pressure to the North Korea.

One expert on China who demanded anonymity said yesterday, while citing a recent article of a Hong Kong newspaper, titled `China deploys 150,000 troops to near the borderline to North Korea`, that ˝The Chinese government seems to allude the Chinese government`s intentional military relocation and scenarios of a war in the Korean Peninsular to the Hong Kong media in an effort to reinforce pressure on North Korea.˝

One diplomatic source in Seoul said that the central committee of the Communist Party has established and is operating a supreme bureau of the policy management that exclusively handles North Korean issues. ˝I heard President Hujin Tao personally looks after the bureau and is checking several situations,˝ he said.

˝I believe that the South Korean government is emphasizing through various channels that if China gives ups its effort to mediate, it may bring about a worst situation,˝ he added.

˝If North Korea goes beyond off-limits and continues its nuclear experiments, China may declare the end of its role and walk away,˝ said Hirayiwa Onji, an professor of the Shizuoka Prefectural University.

˝The `Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Between the North Korea and the People`s Republic of China` which states obligation of automatic military intervention, is not valid anymore in reality. In a worst situation, China may not protect China even if it is attacked by an outside force,˝ David Sambo, director of the China Research Center in the George Washington University and a researcher at the Brookings Institution.

Chang-Hyuk Kim Jung-Ahn Kim chang@donga.com credo@donga.com