Allowing collapse of North Korea unacceptable: experts

• Source: Global Times
• [02:36 August 03 2009]
• Comments

“The US and South Korea have exaggerated the fragility of Pyongyang, while China would never allow the ‘collapse’ of the regime to happen. If the situation in the North becomes shaky, the US will be unable to deal with major shifts on the Korean Peninsula, as it cannot afford extra military deployment because of its huge military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq,” said Yu Wanli, an associate professor of international relations at the School of International Studies at Peking University.

The Chinese government should put most of its efforts into securing the safety of North Korea’s nuclear facilities, which could be a major concern for China on the Korean Peninsula, Zhang warned.

“If relative authorities haven’t made any contingency plans, they’ve definitely neglected their duties,” Zhang said, adding that the Sino-North Korean relationship is neither allied, nor friendly, nor normal.

The US actually has an insight into the situation, but it has deep distrust in Kim Jong Il, so it is still trying to seek cooperation from and put pressure on China, Zhang added.

Kang Juan and Guo Qiang contributed to this story