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North Korea
CommentAsia
Gagan Hitkari
Gagan Hitkari

Opinion | China and North Korea’s ‘friendship year’ need not be bad news for US allies

  • The 75th anniversary of Beijing-Pyongyang diplomatic relations comes as Seoul fears being left out in the cold by Tokyo’s overtures to North Korea
  • Given that it doesn’t make sense for Beijing to abandon Pyongyang or Seoul, China is more likely to play the role of mediator

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a performance at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019. This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea. Photo: Xinhua
Gagan Hitkari

Amid growing tensions on the Korean peninsula, China yet again finds itself at the centre of geopolitical uncertainties, this time as both a bridge and a moat between North Korea and the international community.

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After a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 16, there was a sense that both countries were increasing their cooperation in mitigating the Korean peninsula crisis. However, China’s close ties with North Korea in what the two are calling a “friendship year” complicates the situation and puts Beijing’s role in the spotlight.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea. The countries have vowed to cooperate in all areas including regional peace and stability. Recent North Korean media reports talk about the development of traditional bonds of friendship and cooperation as “demanded by the era” as well as the special Beijing-Pyongyang relationship “that cannot be wrecked”.

The Korean Workers’ Party plenum last December discussed the “dangerous security environment” on the peninsula with leader Kim Jong-un denouncing the US-led anti-communist conflict and advocating for closer relations with “anti-imperialist independent countries”. In this regard, growing ties with China are indicative of North Korean attempts to challenge the position of the US and its partners in the region.

Although China has reached out to South Korea about the tense situation on the peninsula, concerns are rising in Seoul about what the Beijing-Pyongyang partnership – which is expected to have “vibrant” exchanges – may entail. Adding to the anxieties is the possibility of North Korea and Japan forming top-level relations, as indicated by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a statement which was well received by Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister and a deputy department director of the Korean Workers’ Party.

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North Korean false eyelashes sold worldwide as ‘made in China’ products

North Korean false eyelashes sold worldwide as ‘made in China’ products

While the US, Japan and South Korea have agreed on closer cooperation over the North Korean issue, the potential thaw in North Korea-Japan relations may lead to cracks in the trilateral alliance that Seoul fears could leave it worse off.

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