The China Card

The path to freedom goes through China (even if you are not a refugee)

SEOUL — In the face of the Bush administration’s tough stance, North Korea has shifted its survival strategy from seeking a breakthrough in relations with the United States to deepening ties with its ally, China, officials and analysts say.

In recent years, North Korea has placed its top priority on improving diplomatic relations with the United States, which would pave the way for the isolated communist country to ensure security and get much-needed loans from the international lending institutions heavily influenced by Washington.

North Korea devised its nuclear development program to attract U.S. attention and used the nuclear game as a card to win more concessions from the United States, analysts say, but Pyongyang’s years-long efforts have failed to pay off as Washington has tried to further isolate the North over the nuclear standoff.

The United States has recently stepped up pressure on North Korea over its alleged human rights abuses and financial illegalities, prompting Pyongyang’s fears that the Bush administration is aiming for regime change in North Korea.

“Thus, North Korea has decided to wait until the Bush administration is replaced,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea specialist at Dongguk University in Seoul. “North Korea… seeks to sustain (itself) for the next years until the inauguration of a new leadership in the United States by strengthening ties with China.”

Negotiations with North Korea has not brought any tangible rewards over the last decade. China, on the hand, has more potential to deal with the human rights issue. However, how does one bring up North Korean human rights without bringing up Chinese human rights?