Publication

Pyongyang’s adventurism during 2010 such as the Yeonyeong shelling has further complicated the already strained Sino-DPRK relations. The biggest challenge to Beijing was to shake the foundation of China’s DPRK policy, defined as maintaining the status quo by crisis aversion. Chinese analysts criticized Beijing’s lack of an effective overarching strategy toward Pyongyang. Its current approach of accommodation vis-à-vis Kim Jong-Il may not be sustainable. This principle not only symbolizes Beijing’s buffer zone mentality concerning the North’s regime survival but also its difficulty in finding any feasible substitute. Beijing does see the high cost of continued support for an unpredictable neighbor.