hankyoreh

Wu Dawei

The US and China, which previously went back and forth over who was to blame for North Korea’s fourth nuclear test on Feb. 6, are now arguing over who was “slapped” by North Korea after its recent long-range rocket launch announcement.

The debate suggests that the gulf between Washington and Beijing over the North Korean nuclear program and long-range rocket issue is poised to deepen further.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel responded on Feb. 2 to North Korea’s announced plans for a “satellite launch” by saying it “would be an unmistakable slap in the face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans, but not sanctions,” the Associated Press reported on Feb. 3.

The statement was a clear jab at China, which has balked at stronger sanctions and called for more dialogue on the North Korean nuclear issue. It also echoed comments made by US Secretary of State John Kerry the day after the test, in which he publicly discussed telling Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in a telephone call that Beijing’s approach was not working and that there could be no more “business as usual.”

Analysts read the comments as a complaint over Beijing’s failure to use its leverage to pressure Pyongyang - as well as an attempt to deflect criticisms against the US by blaming Beijing for not preventing Pyongyang from raising tensions.

China quickly countered the “slap” claims by arguing that the real slap was on Washington.

“[T]he DPRK did slap the relevant country across the face. As for whose face did the DPRK slap [sic], the country itself knows well,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Lu Kang said in a Feb. 3 briefing, using the abbreviation for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s formal name. His remarks suggested that the long-range rocket announcement was really a slap against the US, not China.

“During the stalemate of the Six-Party Talks, in response to relevant countries’ constant outcry for pressure and sanctions, the DPRK started nuclear test and conducted it [sic] over and over again,” Lu explained as a basis for the charge. The argument is the US, not China, bears basic responsibility for allowing the North Korean nuclear issue to become more complicated because of its single-minded policy focus on sanctions.

The blame game between Washington and Beijing offers evidence that neither side has any effective means of stopping North Korea from following its nuclear test with a long-range rocket launch. While the US has called for sanctions, that in itself is unlikely to seriously hurt North Korea, with which the US has no trade. China has called for a diplomatic approach, but is constrained there by Washington’s refusal to go along with negotiations.

Indeed, special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs Wu Dawei, China’s senior representative at the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, told reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport on Feb. 4 that Beijing had “said everything it needed to say” to Pyongyang during his recent three-day visit to North Korea.

“We have no know way of knowing what will happen now,” Wu added.

The remarks suggest that Pyongyang gave no clear answer in response to Beijing’s efforts to discourage the rocket launch - which would mean no change in its plans to go ahead with it.

“Mr. Wu met to discuss bilateral relations and the Korean Peninsula situation with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Su-yong, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, and Vice Foreign Minister and senior six-party talks representative Ri Yong-ho,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported of the visit.

Washington and Beijing’s dispute over who is “at fault” now looks set to carry over into the adoption of a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution for sanctions against North Korea.

“We can expect the conflict between China and the US to intensify in the UNSC and elsewhere,” Renmin University of China professor Shi Yinhong told the Hankyoreh in a telephone interview.

“There’s also a distinct possibility that no long-term sanctions resolution will emerge,” Shi predicted.

A diplomatic source in Washington predicted that the US would work in the UNSC to intensify sanctions if North Korea does go ahead with the launch.

“Having already said that it values the stability of the Korean Peninsula, China doesn’t look likely to cooperate with the US’s demands,” the source said.

“There’s a good change this is going to turn into a ‘heavyweight battle’ between the US and China for the time being.”

By Lee Yong-in, Washington correspondent, and Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]