Report Claims China More Concerned with Countering the U.S. than North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program
The Chinese are just accepting reality that North Korea is not going to give up their nuclear weapons and the Kim regime is an ally in their great power competition against the U.S. Why would they antagonize an ally to get rid of their nuclear weapons when they know they will never give them up in the first place?:
China appeared more focused on countering U.S. regional influence than on addressing North Korea’s nuclear program, given the absence of any public reference to Pyongyang’s denuclearization in either country’s readout of their summit this week, experts said Tuesday.
The summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang on Monday underlined a deepening strategic alignment between the two countries and their unity amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry over trade, security and other areas, they pointed out.
Xi visited the North Korean capital on Monday and Tuesday on his first trip to the country since 2019, as Beijing was seen striving to strengthen relations with Pyongyang, which has drawn closer to Russia through deepening military, diplomatic and economic cooperation.
“China is more focused on denying U.S. influence than denying North Korea nuclear weapons,” Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific security at the Hudson Institute, told Yonhap News Agency via email.
You can read more at the link.
“Diplomatic sources indicated that discussions on the dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal have entered their final phase, with negotiators reporting broad agreement on verification procedures, security guarantees, and economic assistance.
Officials cautioned that a handful of details remain unresolved but expressed optimism that a breakthrough could occur in the coming weeks.
The most significant outstanding issue is South Korea’s position that Japan should issue a stronger apology regarding the comfort women dispute but for real this time.”