Page 41 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

• Geopolitical Necessity: Because North Korea is capable of
simultaneously posing a threat to both Japan and South
Korea, its geopolitical significance has grown in the context
of U.S. containment of China. While the U.S. deployment
of THAAD in South Korea does not directly target China’s
military vulnerability, China nonetheless perceived it as
25
having a significant strategic value. Military operations
carried out as part of the Indo-Pacific strategy are perceived
as a strategy to encircle China. In this situation, North
Korea’s nuclear and conventional military forces, located
along the Pacific, can be of significant help to China.

• Maintaining Influence: China has persistently worked to
maintain its influence over the Korean Peninsula. While
applying pressure on North Korea with the international
community over the nuclear issue, North Korea’s economic
reliance on China meant that there was little chance of
damaging influence. However, in 2018, direct talks between
North Korea, South Korea, and the U.S. emerged, and
China began to fear being excluded in the Korean Peninsula
26
issue. Some even voiced fears of abandonment. China
actively worked to repair its rapidly deteriorating relations
with North Korea, even going so far as to support the North
Korea-U.S. negotiation process.

25 Sungmin Cho and Oriana Skylar Mastro, “North Korea Is Becoming an Asset for China. Pyongyang’s Missiles
Could Fracture America’s Alliances,” Foreign Affairs (February 3, 2022).
26 Lily Kuo, “In this situation, North Korea’s powerful nuclear and conventional military forces, located along
the Pacific, can be of significant help to China,” The Guardian (April 30, 3018), https://www.theguardian.
com/world/2018/apr/30/sidelined-china-seeks-to-maintain-influence-as-ties-between-north-korea-and-
us-improve.

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