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Fear of US Attack Forced NK to Come to Negotiating Table

From KoreaTimes

A Chinese scholar who is also a key Communist Party member in Shanghai, has said Chinese President Hu Jintao through his top envoy informed North Korean leader Kim Jong-il of a possible United States invasion.

Shen Dingli, professor at Hudan University in Shanghai and who was visiting Korea for an international seminar, was quoted by sources as saying that Hu’s message was very clear about the possibility of U.S. military action against the communist country that is defying international calls to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

Attending a workshop held on the sideline of the 12th Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations last week, the Chinese expert on international relations said, ``Hu told Kim, `If you make a problem, the U.S. will attack you. Don’t expect any help from us.’’’

He said that words of advice by the leader of Pyongyang’s only ally apparently scared the North Korean leader into accommodating Beijing’s suggestion that Pyongyang should engage in talks with the U.S. under whatever format.

During Pyongyang’s June 25, 1950, invasion of the South and the ensuing three-year war, China sent tens of thousands of soldiers to help the North avoid being overwhelmed by United Nations forces.

Kim is widely known to be afraid of U.S. military might and an attack on his impoverished country, which, according to some experts, has pushed it to develop nuclear weapons in the first place.

However, Shen didn’t specify who carried the message but said it was delivered by a senior Chinese official about a month ago.

At least three senior Chinese officials have recently visited Pyongyang. They are Army Chief Political Commissar Xu Caihou, and Vice Foreign Ministers Dai Bingguo and Wang Yi.

Hu’s message came at a time when the North apparently underwent a change of heart and became more accommodating to multilateral dialogue involving not only the U.S. and China, but also South Korea, Japan and Russia. In April, Pyongyang and Washington held the first and only round of three-way talks, with Beijing playing host, after the North’s admission of having a nuclear weapons program.

The negotiations, however, failed to progress as the North demanded that it would conduct direct discussions with the U.S. for a non-aggression pact, while Washington refused.

In connection, the U.S. cable channel CNN reported in an online report that Hu delivered an ultimatum to the North Korean leader, calling on him to adopt a Chinese-style open-door policy, halt its development of weapons of mass destruction and improve relations with neighbors.

Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a CNN analyst, said in the article that Hu’s message forced Kim to send a delegation to the first-round of six-way talks that begin in Beijing today.

Posted by Muddy at August 26, 2003 06:50 AM | TrackBack