China's silence on North Korea's nukes

There is a Chinese saying that means "one eye open, one eye closed." In everyday life, it describes the act of knowingly overlooking another person's faults. In politics, however, it often carries a less flattering meaning: turning a blind eye to misconduct or evading responsibility. China's behavior at its June 8 summit with North Korea fit that description all too well. Despite repeatedly portraying Pyongyang as a "blood ally," Beijing made no mention whatsoever of denuclearization.

According to The Japan Times, the most significant message from the North Korea-China summit was what was never said. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang in 2019, he highlighted China's role in advancing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. This time, his silence was widely interpreted as tacit recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

For Seoul, which has long hoped China could play a constructive role in easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the summit was an unwelcome signal. Since taking office, the Lee Jae-myung administration has consistently emphasized peace and denuclearization in its dealings with Beijing, including during summit meetings held in November last year and January this year. Yet when Chinese and North Korean leaders met, the nuclear issue went unmentioned. Instead, Beijing expressed support for North Korea's efforts to achieve the goals set out at its Ninth Party Congress, where Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear weapons state and formally defined inter-Korean relations as those between two hostile states.

From Kim Jong Un's standpoint, that is a meaningful diplomatic gain. North Korea has already deepened military and economic cooperation with Russia. If economic ties with China also gather momentum, the impact of international sanctions could diminish significantly. China and Russia underscored that possibility in a joint statement issued after their summit last month, declaring opposition to unilateral sanctions against North Korea. With support from both Beijing and Moscow, Pyongyang has fewer reasons than ever to enter negotiations with the United States on terms tied to denuclearization.

The continued expansion of North Korea's nuclear arsenal poses risks far beyond the Korean Peninsula. Nuclear provocations by Pyongyang could encourage other countries, including Japan, to reconsider their security policies and accelerate a regional arms race. For South Korea, where geopolitical uncertainty has long weighed on national development, the implications are particularly serious. Before North Korea draws the wrong conclusions from China's apparent tolerance, stronger diplomatic efforts are needed.

That is why close coordination with the United States remains essential. The inclusion of "North Korean denuclearization" in the joint statement issued after the sixth South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in Seoul on June 11 was significant, marking the first appearance of the phrase in such a statement. Equally encouraging was the trilateral consultation among South Korea, the United States and Japan held in Tokyo the following day, which demonstrated increasingly close coordination on North Korea policy.

At the same time, dialogue with China should not be abandoned. Beijing has little reason to welcome a neighboring North Korea that continues expanding its nuclear and missile capabilities while giving Washington greater justification to strengthen its military presence in the region. A diplomatic source recently described China's growing reluctance to use the phrase "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" not as a rejection of the goal, but as evidence that no new consensus has emerged on how to achieve it. China appears to recognize, at least to some degree, its failure to prevent North Korea's nuclear development while grappling with the reality that Pyongyang already possesses nuclear weapons.

At a news conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration on June 10, President Lee Jae-myung said negotiations should focus first on halting additional production of nuclear materials. "To claim that this amounts to abandoning denuclearization would only make the situation worse," he said. His remarks highlight an important reality. Denuclearization may no longer be an objective that can be achieved quickly, but it remains an objective that cannot be abandoned. South Korea should continue engaging and persuading China so that Beijing does not lose sight of that ultimate goal and remains willing to move toward it, however gradually.