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Opinion | To counter Trump threat, China can help North Korea denuclearise
A potentially disastrous carrot-and-stick US approach to Pyongyang is China’s chance to play a key role in a better future for North Korea
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US President Donald Trump is playing a critical role in ending the war in Ukraine through a carrot-and-stick strategy, pressuring both Russia and Ukraine while pushing European allies to take on greater responsibility for their defence. A similar approach to Pyongyang seems likely.
Trump is in favour of dialogue with North Korea but coercive leverage may be his most effective option. He may threaten to expand the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea or redeploy tactical nuclear weapons there. Alternatively he may urge Seoul and Tokyo to strengthen their national defence by adopting nuclear weapons programmes.
Such moves could derail efforts to ease regional tensions and be catastrophic for Chinese interests. This should push Beijing to make a bold move to counter Trump with a plan to denuclearise North Korea.
A common misconception is that nuclear weapons are the cause of the problem when North Korea’s nuclear weapons are a result of its ideology. Consequently, focusing on weapon development alone will not cement peace in the region.
President Xi Jinping should formulate a strategic plan for North Korea based upon a clear understanding of four unpleasant truths.
First, as long as North Korea maintains its Juche ideology, which it claims is a scientifically advanced, sublimated form of conventional socialism armed with class struggle, it cannot achieve sustained economic development through market-oriented reform. And as long as extreme economic disparities between the two Koreas persists, peace remains unattainable.
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