Comparative Connections v.11 n.2 - China-Korea Relations

North Korea’s missile launch on April 5 and nuclear test on May 25 posed a test to the international community. For China, the tests highlighted the tensions between its emerging role as a global actor and a commitment to North Korea as an ally. On June 12, China voted in favor of UN Security Council Resolution 1874 condemning North Korea’s nuclear test. China now must decide whether it will actively implement the resolution. As a result of North Korea’s declining trade with South Korea and the international community, China’s economic leverage with North Korea has grown. But it is unclear whether China will utilize such leverage given strategic concerns about regional stability and the impact on the political succession process now underway in Pyongyang. Meanwhile, economic policymakers in Seoul are aggressively seeking to expand South Korea’s share of the Chinese market in an effort to shore up the economy and benefit from Beijing’s massive stimulus plan. However, there is growing Sino-South Korean competition to secure overseas export markets and energy sources. This competition is influencing South Korean assessments of China’s role as a global economic power.