A North Korea soldier uses binoculars to look across the DMZ. Image Credit: US Army Photo by Edward N. Johnson
Kim Jong-un’s decision not to attend China’s military parade caps growing trend of self-inflicted isolation.
North Korea is about as isolated diplomatically as it ever has been. After declining an invitation to China’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reasserted his refusal to make his first out-of-country visit as head of state because Xi Jinping refused to sit next to Kim on the reviewing stand.
According to the September 1 edition of KGS’s NightWatch, “North Korea insisted their Supreme Leader receive the highest honors as a guest” and be placed on Xi’s right hand side. When informed by the Chinese that he would be placed at the end of the reviewing stand, Kim canceled. In an attempt to snub China back, North Korea sent Choe Ryong-hae, secretary for the Korean Workers’ Party and chairman of the State of Physical Culture and Sports Commission, in Kim’s place.
WNU Editor: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un does not have his father`s diplomatic smarts when it comes to keeping allies like China or Russia on-board ... hence the isolation. My prediction is that as long as North Korea keeps to itself .... Kim Jong-Un will be left alone. He will also continue to receive economic assistance from China and diplomatic support from Russia ... but the long term trend is clear .... South Korea is far more important to countries like China and Russia, and their policies and support will be dictating that.
On a personal note .... I first saw this rapprochement between China and South Korea when I was stationed in China in the mid-1980s. Chinese provincial officials were always meeting South Korean businessmen and civilians .... and these encounters were always positive and hopeful for the future. But when I brought up North Korea .... I always received"blank stares" .... the North Koreans were just not engaged. I also learned later .... when I was recalled back to Moscow at the end of my contract .... that my meetings with South Korean civilians violated Soviet policy. My punishment .... I received a huge promotion .... so yes .... even in the old Soviet Union .... the winds for change on the Korean situation were occurring in the 1980s.
1 comment:
This is very interesting. I've somewhat suspected this may be the case. Your experiences help confirm this. How did South Korea achieve this "rapprochement?" I suspect allot of it has to do with economics. Essentially South Korea has things to offer countries like Russia and China that North Korea does not that make them valuable enough to them to try and form cordial relations with or to at least consider it.
It seems to me the United States despirately needs a rapprochement with Russia and China. Does the South Korean approach offer any lessons for the United States? Perhaps it does. One way we could help relations with these great powers would be to find someway we can add value to them to such a degree that they would deem it to costly to them to try and harm us.
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