Posted by Sir Four at 10:30am Feb 20 '14Why doesn't China help to end the brutal regime in North Korea? Whenever this question is asked, two answers are usually given:
1) China prefers to have the Kim regime as a buffer between itself and Westernized South Korea.
2) China fears millions of NK refugees pouring across its border when the Kim regime goes down.
Surely these concerns can be mitigated, can they not? As to #1, could there not be a negotiated joint China-SK administration of the North? What sort of issues might be blocking such a negotiation?
On Point 2, I would imagine a UN humanitarian effort to support NK refugees, either along the Chinese side of the border or perhaps within NK itself (if conditions allow). Why is it automatically assumed that China alone would bear the burden of NK refugees?
China and North Korea - Sir Four