Publication

This brief examines South Korea's view of China-North Korea relations. Specifically, it presents three South Korean schools of thought on what might happen to the relationship between the two countries. The first suggests that the threat of nuclear warfare from North Korea could lead to closer China-US relations. The second thinks there will be no substantive change in relations between the two countries leading Beijing to continue its protection of Pyongyang from external threats. The third emphasizes the uniqueness of the relationship between China and North Korea and argues that China’s most pressing concern is to avoid the collapse of the Kim regime.