You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
China-Japan-Koreas
ChiComs transfer emergency cash to NorKs despite rebuff on talks
2006-09-21
From East Asia Intel, subscription.
North KoreaÂ’s government recently rebuffed appeals from senior Chinese officials to return to the six-party nuclear talks, and Beijing rewarded the intransigence with additional cash payments.
Here, have some money, Kimmie. Keep the pot boiling on the Peninsula.
The appeal was made during the visit in late August by Chinese State Counselor Tang Jiaxuan who had carried a personal letter for Kim from Chinese President Hu Jintao. Tang was snubbed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.
"Just leave the briefcase full of counterfeit US C notes cash with the receptionist. I am too busy to talk to you today, Mr. Tang. Good day.
The North Korea action did not deter Tang from offering an additional cash payment to the North Korea, sources said.

U.S. officials viewed the Tang visit and the North Korean response as a clear sign that North Korea is no longer interested in taking part in the six-party nuclear talks with China, the United States, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
Neither is the US. They are catering affairs with no substance.
Despite the negative treatment of Tang, China is still opposed to using its leverage against the Kim regime, which is heavily reliant on Chinese aide, to force Pyongyang back to the negotiating table. “The Chinese don’t want sanctions,” one official said. “They just want to talk and the North Koreans are not responding.”
And that is just what the ChiComs want. Talk talk talk. Wear down the allies.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials said there is no evidence that Kim Jong-Il recently traveled to China, although they did not rule out the possibility that the North Korean leader had made a secret trip.
Publicly announced trips could get him splattered all over the railway tracks by his many enemies.
The arrival of a special train that had previously transported Kim to the North Korean-Chinese border had triggered reports of a visit to China. One official said that it was possible that Kim visited China, but it would have meant that Beijing was able to carry out the visit in utmost secrecy. “They would have to be very, very good to have pulled that off,” the official said.
They are very, very good at intel and quiet ops.
Posted by:Alaska Paul

#8  The fact that we don't KNOW what that context is makes it hard to assess all the motives involved here.

Very much agreed. I also think that we're all on the same page here. I just want to make sure that China is, in some way, held accountable for the standing atrocity that North Korea is.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-09-21 18:13  

#7  Zen, I'm with RJS on this one. I think that there is a whole lot of internal political turmoil in China that we have no idea about. From everything I've been reading they have a lot of different trouble from the Muzzies in the west to the miners to the rich business types of HK. Each one has its own dynamic in the polit-bureau. NK has to be handled by them in that context.

The fact that we don't KNOW what that context is makes it hard to assess all the motives involved here.
Posted by: AlanC   2006-09-21 17:15  

#6  Maybe they're trying to buy back their trains?
Posted by: tu3031   2006-09-21 17:01  

#5  Hey zen,
the famine in the ninetys in NK resulted in a million or so refugees flooding north into china. The chinese government whilst riddled with corruption and beurocratic ennuie is patrolling the border think mexico/us rather than the 38th parallel.
Posted by: pihkalbadger   2006-09-21 16:59  

#4  I'm not saying its a good thing. Clinton and friends should have let the North Koreans melt down a decade ago when everyone was wealthy enough to absorb the costs and before they developed nukes.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-09-21 16:55  

#3  While I understand the distinction you are making, rjschwarz, anything that delays the meltdown of North Korea essentially prolongs the problem and thereby exacerbates the crisis.

Additionally, unless you want to consider extra border guards to be of merit, China is doing exactly nothing to prepare for the flood of Noth Korean refugee that would result from any disintegration of the Kim regime. This is why I frame the arguement as being one of China's perpetuating the problem.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-09-21 16:37  

#2  I think the cash payment was less about buying off Kim to keep the trouble brewing than it was to stave off an implosion that China is unwilling and unready to deal with.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2006-09-21 16:17  

#1  Here, have some money, Kimmie. Keep the pot boiling on the Peninsula.

Yup, further proof that China has zero intention of seeking any solution to the North Korean crisis. China has bred up this rabid animal and likes to keep it chained on the porch to discourage any adventurers in the region.

At some point, the gruesome deaths of so many North Korean civilians needs to be laid at China's door. Starvation and cannibalism are the legacy of the Politburo's meddling.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-09-21 16:14  

00:00