Over the last months, it appeared as if the majority of Asian countries were finally coming into sync where it concerns the North Korean situation. The DPRK’s continued aggression and the development of their nuclear program managed to irk pretty much everyone at once. Even China looked like they would be joining in with the U.S. and South Korea and imposing sanctions against the rogue state. But recent developments have shown the bare-faced truth of politics: That first-and-foremost, everyone has their own interests in mind.
According to recent reports, China continues to send aid to their smaller neighbor, at least in the form of free food and fertilizer. This comes shortly after they shut down one of North Korea’s most important bank accounts, giving the impression that while they do want to teach the DPRK a lesson, they are unwilling to prevent them from having food on their table. The likely reasoning behind this is that a starving country is a desperate country and that while you can do whatever is necessary to slow the development of the country’s nuclear program, China is not willing to let their people go hungry.
Because South Korea has ceased its own aid to their neighbor, China has even decided to send their usual aid a bit earlier in the year. More than 100,000 tons of food makes its way across the border each year from China and now that other aid has stopped, it will make Chinese influence on the country that much stronger.
Most agree that sanctions will put a serious damper on North Korea’s ability to pursue its nuclear program. Others say that increased sanctions will likely lead to the country’s eventual collapse. But what will happen after that collapse hits, no one can predict. Still, the end result is what’s important to the United Nations and they've even put forth the opinion that more sanctions need to be imposed. An unstable North Korea is probably the last thing China wants, however.
But no one can seem to agree on what the best course of action is. Everyone cooperates on certain things, but continues to interact with North Korea when dealing with others. Japan has even made a recent trip to North Korea to discuss diplomatic matters, a move that has their allies in the U.S. and South Korea rolling their eyes. One thing is for sure: The more countries say one thing and do the other, the less united they look. But this will never change as long as each government has something they seek to gain and are willing to compromise that united front in order to achieve it.
North Korean farm photo courtesy of Stephan
