Page 35 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

abandoned by China after the end of the Cold War in the
1990s is also convincing. If viewed as an attempt to maintain
11
independence from China’s active or passive influence, it
originated from the intention to maintain tension on the
Korean Peninsula through nuclear development, provide a
pretext for the continued presence of U.S. forces in South
Korea during the post-Cold War era, and make China
recognize North Korea as an indispensable buffer zone.

However, North Korea’s nuclear development has become a
12
significant burden for China. Possessing nuclear weapons,
North Korea emphasized its status as an independent
sovereign state and acquired important leverage to block
13
China’s influence. China had little room to utilize its ally
14
North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. Instead, North Korea’s
nuclear development led China to bear the task of preventing
North Korea’s collapse due to international isolation and
sanctions, and instability factors caused by its own actions.
Although China participated in the Six-Party Talks and joined
international sanctions, these steps ended up highlighting
China’s responsibility in the international community without
any results and, therefore, its powerlessness.

11 Monet Stokes, “North Korea Doesn’t Trust China to Protect It,” Foreign Policy (December 4, 2022), https://
foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/25/north-korea-china-nuclear-umbrella-denuclearization-kim-jong-un/.

12 Heungkyu Kim, “From a Buffer Zone to a Strategic Burden: Evolving Sino-North Korea Relations during the
Hu Jintao Era,” The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Vol.22, No.1 (2010).

13 For more provocative assumption of North Korea’s threats towards China, Diana Y. Myers, “Thinking About
the Unthinkable: North Korea’s Nuclear Threat Towards China,” North Korean Review, Vol.19, No.2 (Fall
2023).
14 Nazim Rahim, Aziz Ur Rehman, Manzoor Khan Afridi, and Barkat Ali, “China towards North Korea’s Nuclear

Program: A Bargaining Chip or a Liability?” The Dialogue, Vol.14, No.4 (October-December 2019).

34 Section I : North Korea-China Relations: How and Why Does Beijing Protect and Empower Pyongyang?