Pyongyang announced Friday
its plan to launch a satellite next month, setting off another round of
condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the US. China summoned North Korea's
ambassador to China to express its concerns. A sense of nervousness is seemingly
shrouding the Korean Peninsula.
China appears to be put in an awkward
position every time Pyongyang makes a surprise move. It has to maintain a
balance between preventing radical actions in the Peninsula and keeping friendly
ties with North Korea.
Pyongyang is acquiring a stronger nuclear ability
and strategic striking power despite daunting external pressure.
Seoul,
Tokyo and Washington are hoping China exert more pressure on North Korea. They
are counting on the fact that China can eventually bring Pyongyang to its
knees.
But it's a flawed logic. China should distance itself from the
policy these three countries insist on. They need to answer the question of why
the financially strapped North Korea is obsessed with developing strategic
weapons, and why it barely cares about the condemnation from international
community.
The reason is simple: North Korea feels insecure.
It
has long been haunted by a fear of outside invasion or intervention. It needs
nuclear weapons and missile power to be able to strike US territory to prevent
any external threats.
As long as South Korea, Japan and the US do not
give North Korea a sense of security, it will not stop lashing back at
them.
Pyongyang, left behind on Northeast Asia's road to prosperity, has
been turning a deaf ear to the criticism. With decades-old sanctions still in
effect, it has nothing more to lose.
North Korea's concept of security has become
extreme, but so have the security requirements of Seoul, Tokyo and Washington
toward Pyongyang.
The three countries fear being struck by North Korea
despite the extreme asymmetry in the balance of power.
China is not able
to persuade North Korea, largely because it is not able to persuade Seoul, Tokyo
and Washington. Pyongyang's action is responsive.
The world should have
a clear mind of China's role in the Korean Peninsula.
If China had not
done its part, the situation could have been much messier. But the North Korean
issue is not under China's control.
Keeping friendly ties with North
Korea is important to China. It is a starting point for China to exert
influence, and also in its fundamental interests in Northeast Asian diplomatic
affairs.
China should seek new ways to influence North Korea. It is not
simply yielding to North Korea's demand, but it cannot shape North Korea
according to the will of Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
China needs to tell
North Korea the truth. Pyongyang and its people will suffer the most if the
impasse persists.
