North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un promised
last week during a high-profile ruling
party gathering that he would increase
the country's military capabilities even
more.
North Korea fired a suspected ballistic
missile into its eastern waters on
wednesday. The South Korean and Japanese
military said the first such launch in
about two months amid long dormant
international diplomacy on the north's
nuclear program.
The latest launch came after north
korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to
further boost his military capability at
a high-profile ruling party conference
last week.
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said
in a statement North Korea fired a
suspected ballistic missile toward its
eastern waters on wednesday morning, it
said South Korean and U.S intelligence
authorities were trying to analyze more
information about the launch.
The Japanese defense ministry also
detected the north korean launch, saying
the country likely fired a missile. "We
find it truly regrettable that north
korea has continued to fire missiles
from last year," Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
Other details about the North Korean
launch were immediately available, including where the suspected missile
landed and whether there had been any
damage. He said he ordered officials to
confirm the safety of ships and planes
in the area where the suspected missile
likely flew and fell.
Wednesday's launch is the first such
firing since North Korea tested a series
of newly developed weapons between
september and november, including
nuclear-capable missiles that place South Korea and Japan, both key U.S Allies
in the region within striking distance.
Some experts said North Korea was
applying more pressure on its rivals to
accept it as a nuclear power state and
to ease international sanctions on the
country.
The Biden Administration has repeatedly
said it is open to resuming nuclear
diplomacy with North Korea anywhere and
at any time without preconditions. The North has so far rebuffed such overtures, saying U.S hostility remains unchanged.
U.S Led Diplomacy aimed at convincing North Korea to Abandon its nuclear
program collapsed in 2019 due to
wrangling over how much sanctions relief
should be given to the north in return
for dismantling its main nuclear complex, a limited denuclearization step. Kim has since threatened to enlarge his
nuclear and missile Arsenals.
"Many western experts believe that China
is behind North Korea's latest move. They believe Beijing may come to see North Korea as leverage for challenging Washington's position on multiple issues, including the US goal to denuclearize
the Korean Peninsula. In light of the great power competition, China sees north korea as leverage more
than ever," said Yoon-Sun, Director of the China program at the Simpson Center.
"If for example the u.s wants china to
support additional sanctions on North Korea, China is unlikely to comply unless
the U.S reciprocates on some other
fronts," she added.
Evans revere a former state department
official with extensive experience
negotiating with North Korea, said because of the Downturn in U.S-China relations some in the PRC probably
see the DPRK, which shares China's
opposition to the US Military presence
in the region, as a strategic asset. Even
if north korea's nuclear status makes
the chinese nervous.
BPRK stands for North Korea's official
name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and PRC stands for china's
official name, the people's republic of
china. he added that with the growth of Sino-US rivalry, this view is likely to
remain for the foreseeable future.
China, like North Korea wants to maintain
the absence of U.S Forces near China's
border. According to a pentagon report
released earlier this month on China, the US has approximately 28,000 troops
stationed in South Korea.
Patrick Cronin, the Hudson Institute's Asia Pacific Security Chair says he does
not think Beijing views north korea's
nuclear weapons as an asset, but it seems
happy to exploit North Korea's existence
to divert attention from itself and keep
the united states busy with multiple
challenges.
Rivalry between Washington and Beijing
has intensified as China expands its
global influence. Beijing is willing to
confront the united states and other
countries in areas where interests
diverge.
On the other hand countering China's
military assertion in the indo-pacific
region decoupling global supply chains
from Beijing and preserving a
rules-based international order have
been washington's top priorities as it
seeks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has tested multiple missiles
in recent months, including rail and
submarine launched ballistic missiles. Experts also noted a diversion between Washington and Beijing on the
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
China clearly does not share the same
interests as the united states when it
comes to denuclearization, Cronin said
and China's recent moves to expand its
own nuclear arsenal suggests it has
other priorities.
The Pentagon estimated China could have
700 nuclear warheads by 2027 and 1000 by
2030, according to its report.
According to robert manning, a senior
fellow at the Atlantic Council Chinese
priorities have been no war on the Korean Peninsula. No collapse of the North Korean regime that could trigger
refugee inflow into china and no nukes. In contrast US priorities have been no
nukes, no war.
Differing priorities illuminate the
limits of cooperation and tactical
differences in diplomacy toward
denuclearization, said Manning.
China, North Korea's most significant
trading partner has been pushing for
sanctions relief for pyongyang. The
sanctions imposed by the united nations
security council target nuclear weapons
proliferation activities and human
rights violations.
Patricia Kim, a fellow with expertise in Chinese Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution said divergent US and Chinese priorities on north korea have
resulted in the two having different
views on the sequencing of
denuclearization and sanctions relief.
"China's priority to maintain stability
on the Korean Peninsula led it to focus
first on north korea's political and
economic integration into the region," kim
said.
