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The Changes of North Korea's Perception on China in the Era of Cold War and Post-Cold War.

  • The Journal of Northeast Asia Research
  • Abbr : NEA
  • 2023, 38(2), pp.139-177
  • DOI : 10.18013/jnar.2023.38.2.005
  • Publisher : The Institute for Northeast Asia Research
  • Research Area : Social Science > Political Science > International Politics > International Relations / Cooperation
  • Received : June 6, 2023
  • Accepted : August 16, 2023
  • Published : August 31, 2023

Seongryeol Kim 1

1부산외국어대학교 외교전공

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the factors that change North Korea's perception of China in the process of regressing from a "blood alliance" between North Korea and China to "strategic relations". Existing studies have shown that North Korea-China relations tend to be analyzed from a traditional perspective, such as a "blood alliance" and "strategic relations of interests". However, significant leadership changes in both countries have made them remain as the relations of strategic partners for their interests. China judged that stability and peace in the region were in line with its interests and maintained relations in "maintaining the status quo" that is, managing and attracting North Korea's instability factors. China also maximizes its interests by using the North Korean issue and two strategies on the Korean Peninsula as a mine for negotiations with the United States. That means that in diplomatic relations between China and the United States during the Cold War, North Korea already felt betrayed by China, and China is no longer a reliable ally underlying Sino-North Korea relations. China's joining hands with the hostile U.S. has given North Korean leaders the task of "confusion and re-evaluation" of whether they can trust China, a blood-blind country. Eventually, they have no choice but to come up with a new strategy to stand alone. In the early 1990s, diplomatic relations between South Korea and China led to the highest conflict between North Korea and China. Although relations between North Korea and China have recovered since then, distrust is still in place.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.