The Development of Relations between the Two Koreas: A Chinese Perspective
Relations between South and North Korea are defined as “special,” implying their innate instability. Inter-Korean relations are affected not only by internal factors within the two Koreas, but also external factors, such as the US. For China, issues on the Korean Peninsula are viewed from three images. First, there are specific issues such as the North Korean nuclear issue; second, there is the issue of the reunification of the Korean Peninsula; and third, there is the issue of the Northeast Asian regional security structure, with the Korean Peninsula at the center. China will take, as it has taken, the assurance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as the basis of its primary strategic objective. At the same time, it will pursue its policy on the Korean Peninsula, encompassing policy toward both the North and South, based on the aforementioned three images.