North Korea: Stark Limits to U.S.-Chinese Cooperation

By Thomas Cynkin

Dr. Thomas Cynkin is Vice President at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School, and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.  Cynkin previously headed the Washington Office of Fujitsu Ltd. as Vice President and General Manager.  A former Foreign Service Officer, he served seven years as a Japanese-speaking diplomat in Japan, and was the Asian affairs advisor to two Deputy Secretaries of State and two US Ambassadors to the UN.

Upon coming into office, the Trump Administration quickly came to the correct conclusion that the Obama Administration’s policy of “strategic patience” toward North Korea was really “strategic neglect.”  Secretary of State Tillerson in Seoul March 17 stated it succinctly: “Let me be very clear: the policy of strategic patience has ended.”  Strategic patience entirely failed; it allowed Pyongyang years of breathing room to develop its nuclear weapon and missile programs with the clear objective of deploying nuclear ICBMs capable of striking the U.S. homeland.

While direct Western sanctions on North Korea seem to be reaching the limit of their effectiveness at this point, given highly circumscribed economic interaction with the Hermit Kingdom, China’s economic ties to North Korea are powerful.  Recognizing this reality, the Administration appears to be attempting to subcontract out the North Korea problem to Beijing.  As President Donald Trump tweeted, “I have great confidence that China will properly deal with North Korea.  If they are unable to do so, the U.S., with its allies, will.  U.S.A.!”  The subtext is that if China doesn’t take care of the North Korea problem, the U.S. will – through means of its own choosing.

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