Rare row shows China and North Korea still at odds over nuclear weapons

North Korea's rare blow to China this week underscored the extent to which Beijing and Pyongyang are not entirely in agreement over the latter's illicit nuclear arsenal, despite warming ties in other areas, South Korean analysts and officials said.

The North on Monday condemned China, Japan and South Korea for discussing denuclearization of the peninsula, calling their joint statement after a summit in Seoul a “serious political provocation” that violates its sovereignty.

Although Beijing helped tone down its comments by advocating mentioning the peninsula rather than the North specifically, that was enough to irritate its neighbor, one analyst said.

“It is notable that North Korea criticized a joint statement that China agreed with, even after Beijing helped water down the statement,” added Patricia Kim of the Brookings Institution in the United States.

In their remarks, the three countries “reiterated their positions on regional peace and stability and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” but unlike the last such statements in 2019 and before, they did not commit to continuing the denuclearization.

Since international negotiations with the United States and other countries stalled in 2019, North Korea has decided to reject the idea of ​​permanently abandoning its nuclear weapons.

“This is North Korea emphasizing its position that any diplomatic rhetoric suggesting Pyongyang should ultimately denuclearize is unacceptable,” said Tong Zhao, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Having enshrined its nuclear status in the Constitution and reprimanding anyone who questions it, North Korea is seeking formal international recognition as a nuclear-armed country.”

Asked about the North's criticism at a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said “China's fundamental position on the Korean Peninsula issue remains unchanged.” but did not mention denuclearization.

A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said there were significant differences of opinion on the North Korean issue among the three countries at the summit, adding that China did not use the term “denuclearization.” since last year.

“Given the current geopolitical situation, I think it would be difficult to get China to agree to anything like previous agreements on the issue,” the official said at a press briefing.

But the discussions suggested that despite weaker language, China's basic position on denuclearization had not changed, the official added, calling the formal use of the term in the statement “significant.”

COURIER TO NORTH KOREA

China is North Korea's only military ally and by far its largest trading partner.

North Korea's failure to launch a spy satellite just hours after the Seoul summit is no coincidence and should be seen as part of its message to China, wrote researcher Rachel Minyoung Lee .

“The North's relations with China appear to be cooling over the past year, but this is the first time in recent years that signs of trouble have emerged,” she wrote in a report for the 38 Program. North based in Washington.

Brookings' Kim acknowledged that the North's actions showed that its ties with China were not as warm as might be perceived from the outside.

“Even though the two sides have maintained a steady pace of official exchanges and Beijing continues to protect Pyongyang from international pressure, long-standing mutual suspicion and contempt… limit the depth of their alignment,” he said. she declared.

Now that Pyongyang has strengthened its ties with Russia, it likely feels it has greater leverage in its dealings with China and can afford to show less deference to it, she said. added.

Zhao, based in Washington, said China had some reservations about deepening military cooperation between the North and Russia, which could undermine Beijing's near-monopoly of influence over Pyongyang.

China is also careful not to give the impression of a de facto alliance between Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang that could run counter to practical cooperation with major Western countries, he added.

But the North's criticism does not necessarily indicate growing problems in its relations with China, Zhao said.

“China-North Korea bilateral relations appear to be moving at a gradual and stable pace toward greater cooperation,” he added.