NORTH KOREA sent its latest satellite into orbit on February 7th, five days after Groundhog Day. Much of the world could be forgiven for thinking that, like the protagonist in the 1993 film of that name, they are stuck in a time loop. They wake up, North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, other countries condemn its actions and the UN Security Council descends into bickering until the cycle begins again. But just as in the film each day is subtly different, so with North Korea now: the latest test may actually mark the end of a period in which China was prepared to get tougher on its unruly client. From now on, China and America may disagree more strongly about how to deal with the nuclear risks that North Korea poses.
In 2012, after Kim Jong Un, the North’s third-generation dictator (pictured above), last tested a satellite, China endorsed a UN resolution that tightened sanctions against his regime and even sounded a warning, via Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper, that if the North “engages in further nuclear tests, China will not hesitate to reduce its assistance”.
Three years on, a Chinese spokeswoman merely...Continue reading
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