China reconsidering North policies after nuclear test

BEIJING - A Chinese government source told the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday that China has begun overhauling its North Korean policy following the North’s nuclear test last week.

The source said he believes Chinese President Hu Jintao wielded some influence on this change of course. Hu is also the chair of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group, a Communist Party organ that handles foreign policies of the country.

Xinhua News reported that Hu spoke to the U.S. President Barack Obama by phone to discuss North Korea, and the agency said the United States wanted to “boost coordination and cooperation with China on a broad range of major issues.” China has for decades maintained a soft line on North Korea but has slowly started turning its back after Pyongyang carried out its second nuclear test.

Following the test, a government source said, “The Communist Party’s international liaison department, the Defense Ministry and the Commerce Ministry have begun reviewing their North Korean policy.” The source added that regional governments of Jilin and Liaoning Provinces, the two areas directly affected by the nuclear test, were also part of the general review. Jilin borders North Korea to the east, and Liaoning to the southeast.

“The result of their discussions will be reported to Hu Jintao, and the party’s politburo standing committee will determine the final direction,” the source said. “There’s no guarantee this review process will end any time soon, but it will likely have a huge impact on China’s mid- to long-term North Korean policy.”

A diplomatic source in Beijing said he has detected a change of tone among Korean experts in China.

“In the past, those experts just regurgitated the official Chinese position on North Korea,” the source said. “But recently, they’re also incorporating views of foreign analysts on China’s North Korean policy, and they’re providing the local media with diverse perspectives.

“This change has been due to an order from the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department and other high-ranking officials.”

According to Reuters, Zhan Debin, an expert on Korea at Fudan University in Shanghai, wrote in the paper Global Times that North Korea is a “strategic burden” for China.

“If this continues, China will not be able to stall international expectations by saying that North Korea doesn’t listen or that we have no influence,” wrote Zhan.

“If Pyongyang continues raising the international stakes,” Zhan added, “war cannot be ruled out, and North Korea will either continue to be trapped in a Cold War or will swiftly disappear.”

The diplomatic source said the Chinese leadership “was quite angry” with North Korea because it gave China only 29 minutes’ notice “and proceeded with the test before China could prepare its official stance.”

In the immediate aftermath of the test, Xi Jinping, Chinese Vice President and vice chair of the Foreign Affairs Leading Small Group, strongly condemned the test during his Beijing meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee.

The source added that the Chinese government is especially upset that the test has created a sense of anxiety among its citizens, especially those in Jilin Province, over possible exposure to radioactivity. In short, Chinese leaders have now had to realize the nuclear problem is now in their backyard.

By Chang Se-jung, Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]