But with Kim, the risks for Beijing were just as high, given Tokyo’s rearmament, enhanced military cooperation between Manila and Washington, the alliance between South Korea and the United States, and Taiwan’s creep toward secession. They all point to the US-led containment strategy against China. Kim was ostensibly Xi Jinping’s junior partner, and he knew he was indispensable.
While contemporary geopolitics is dominated by all these strongmen due to their countries’ military or economic heft, Kim has resorted to using a weaker hand to his advantage. During Xi’s visit, Kim described relations with China as “the most important top priority,” stressing that Beijing is his main supporter. However, he now has options with Moscow.
In contrast, Xi ignored complete denuclearization during his visit. Some commentators have interpreted this as China’s implicit support for North Korea’s status as a nuclear power. But it was more of an unannounced gesture than a substantive policy change, not really different from the West’s decades-long acceptance of Israel as a nuclear power, despite so-called strategic ambiguity about possessing such weapons.
There is a big difference in the result. A nuclear-armed Israel has enabled it to seek hegemony and destabilize the Middle East. A nuclear-armed North Korea has been a stabilizing factor in the Asia-Pacific region, contrary to Western propaganda.
