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7
unrestricted warfare to achieve its objectives short of war. It is
already setting the conditions for domination. Korea, whether
a South Korea, a North Korea, or a United Republic of Korea,
will always be vulnerable to China and the great powers
because as the Korean parable states: it is a “shrimp among
8
whales.”

Three No’s - No War, No Collapse, No Nuclear
Weapons in North Korea

It is assumed that China benefits from North Korea as a buffer
state to keep democracy as well as U.S. troops from its doorstep.
Therefore, the prevention of war and regime collapse is of
paramount concern. It is in China’s interests to sustain the status
quo even if that includes a North Korea with nuclear weapons. It
is likely that China does not fear North Korean nuclear weapons
in the same way that South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. fear them.
China continues to have a no nuclear weapons policy for its
own legitimacy in the international community and to maintain
influence over South Korea, the U.S., and the United Nations (UN).

China does provide aid to the regime as well as “top cover”
diplomatic protection at the UN Security Council. It is also
complicit in two areas: it helps the North to evade sanctions and
it helps the regime maintain stability by forcibly repatriating

7 Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, Unrestricted Warfare, Beijing: PLA Literature and Arts Publishing House,
February 1999), https://www.c4i.org/unrestricted.pdf
8 Donald Kirk, “A Shrimp Among Whales,” The Korea Times, December 2, 2021, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/
www/opinion/2024/04/638_319709.html

Chapter Five : “Three No’s” Times Two: China’s North and South Korea Policy 79