Pushing Denuclearization

　　Chinese VP’s North Korea trip seeks to foster peace and dialogueon the peninsula

　　Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao paid avisit to North Korea from July 25 to 28 incommemoration of the 60th anniversaryof the Korean War truce. The outside world sawthe trip as a move by Beijing to renew relationswith Pyongyang. But in fact， Li’s trip representsanother attempt to promote the denucleariza-tion of the Korean Peninsula， demonstratingChina’s resolution to maintain regional peaceand stability.

　　Historic juncture

　　The situation on the Korean Peninsula has seen

　　ups and downs in the frst half of 2013. At thebeginning of the year， the UN Security Councilissued Resolution 2087 to impose sanctions onPyongyang， claiming that North Korea’s satel-lite launch at the end of 2012 violated SecurityCouncil resolutions that forbid Pyongyang fromusing ballistic missile technology for any launch.Pyongyang then conducted its third nucleartest on February 12 in protest， attempting tosafeguard its right to develop space technology.

　　However， the third nuclear test by NorthKorea ushered in a new stage of the nucleardilemma. Pyongyang announced that it hassuccessfully mastered technology for the pro-duction of smaller and lighter atomic bombs，posing a nuclear threat to U.S. military bases inJapan and even the U.S. mainland. Hence， therisk of military confrontation between NorthKorea and the United States escalated.

　　On March 7， the UN Security Councilunanimously passed Resolution 2094， im-posing tougher sanctions on Pyongyang aspunishment for its third nuclear test. Shortlyafterward， Washington announced it wouldsend its new B-52 bomber to join U.S.-SouthKorean joint military drills. During one suchnaval drill in May， Washington even sent itsnuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz，one of the largest warships in the world，to South Korea’s eastern coast， where thedrills were held. Pyongyang countered witha characteristically threatening statement，announcing the withdrawal of the truceagreement and positioning its missiles for acounterattack. The peninsula was once againon the verge of war.

　　The third nuclear test of North Korea hasin a sense brought the peninsula to a newcrossroad. There remains little hope for rec-onciliation between Seoul and Pyongyang 60years after the Korean War truce， and an armsrace between the two is escalating. Supportfor the development of nuclear arms is alsoincreasing in South Korea and Japan. ThoughSouth Korean President Park Geun Hye calledfor building trust with North Korea during hertrip to the United States， there is no indicationthat the situation on the peninsula is returningto the right track.

　　Channel for dialogue

　　The rapidly changing state of the KoreanPeninsula is a problem for all relevant parties.With hostility flaring between Pyongyang andSeoul as well as Washington， putting the nuclearissue on the table for dialogue is an immensechallenge. The remnants of a Cold War mindsethave been the major obstacle to peace on thepeninsula. For the Asia-Pacifc region as a whole，the U.S. “pivot to Asia” strategy， which appearsto be driven by Cold War thinking， complicatesany potential solution.

　　To break the pattern of confrontation，one of China’s diplomatic steps is to estab-lish a new type of relations between majorpowers with the United States， thus buildinga Sino-U.S. cooperative framework that mini-mizes the Cold War factor. On the KoreanPeninsula， China has also worked to establish strategic cooperation with South Korea， split-ting the Cold War pattern at a deeper level.Meanwhile， maintaining close communica-tion with the top leadership of Pyongyangwill allow China to positively infuence eventson the peninsula.

　　No matter how we define the Beijing-

　　Pyongyang relationship， it is undeniable that therelationship of the two is of special geopoliticalsignificance. That’s not only because Chineseand North Korean people fought side by side todefend their countries more than six decadesago， but also because their geostrategic inter-ests are deeply intertwined. The policies of eachside will have a great infuence on the geostra-tegic interests of the other.

　　North Korea’s third nuclear test has not onlycaused great instability on the Korean Peninsulabut also to some extent hurt Sino-North Koreanrelations. As a responsible power， China sup-ported the UN sanctions against Pyongyang.However， this doesn’t mean that China haschanged its position of settling the nuclear issuethrough dialogue. There will be no lasting peaceon the peninsula without denuclearization， andthat will only be possible with structured dia-logue.

　　For a variety of reasons， Pyongyang andSeoul as well as Pyongyang and Washingtonare incapable of holding substantive talks at themoment. Rather， dialogue between Beijing andPyongyang appears to be the most importantchannel for North Korea to learn about theideas of theinternational community and bringPyongyang back to the six-party talks.

　　Taking the opportunity of commemorat-ing the 60th anniversary of the Korean WarArmistice， Vice President Li paid this visit toNorth Korea. Li met with North Korea’s topleader Kim Jong Un. He conveyed a messagefrom Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kim andreiterated China’s position on the denucleariza-tion of the Korean Peninsula， the maintenanceof its peace and stability and solving problemsthrough dialogue and negotiations. Li saidChina would like to push the resumption of thesix-party talks and contribute to the denuclear-ization of the Korean Peninsula together with allrelated parties， in a bid to achieve peace in theregion.

　　In the meantime， Li noted that the China-North Korea relationship is entering a newperiod that serves as a link between past andfuture， which means cherishing hard-won peacein the past and creates lasting stability in thefuture. Therefore， a joint commitment to peaceand stability on the peninsula is the basis for thedevelopment of China-North Korea relations in the future. Strengthening dialogue between thetwo countries will create favorable conditions forfostering lasting peace on the peninsula.

　　Outmoded ideas

　　The stagnation of the denuclearization processrests with several obstacles. The frst is historicalenmity between North Korea and South Korea.The Pyongyang-Seoul relationship is markedby rivalry. Both sides seek the unification ofthe peninsula and regard itself as superior tothe other. Also， legal and military confrontationbetween the two has exacerbated mutual sus-picion and hostility. Another is the ideologicalobstacle. As a huge economic gap exists be-tween the two countries， there is little space forthe mutual inclusiveness of the two systems，which adds to diffculties in establishing mutualtrust. Moreover， as South Korea is an impor-tant part of the U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy， thePyongyang-Seoul relationship is easily affectedby U.S. geopolitical strategy. The nuclear issue isa product of these complicated problems.

　　At present， the question comes down towhether a peace agreement should be signedor a peace mechanism should be established inreturn for the denuclearization of Pyongyang.Though the Joint Statement of the fourth roundof the six-party talks in 2005 has mentionednegotiating for a permanent peace mechanismon the peninsula， it is a non-binding clausethat is not contingent upon the denucleariza-tion of Pyongyang. It should be admitted thatPyongyang’s nuclear development owes tothe confrontation on the peninsula. Therefore，denuclearization should be connected with theremoval of the confrontation. However， dueto ideological differences， it is difficult for theUnited States to normalize its relationship with North Korea.

　　For its part， China is committed to help-ing resolve the issue through dialogue. Whilestrengthening cooperation with the UnitedStates and South Korea and enhancing com-munication with North Korea， it tries to buildmutual trust among parties concerned in hopesthat the peninsula could establish lasting peacethrough reconciliation. But to create a new eraon the peninsula， it is imperative that all partiesabandon outmoded ideas.

　　By Shi Yongming

　　The author is anassociate researchfellow with the ChinaInstitute ofInternational Studies

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……