13 countries put pressure on the DPRK, and the Chinese plane arrived in the DPRK, and at a critical moment, Yoon Suk-yeol asked for dialogue with the Chinese side. So, what signals did the Chinese representatives on their visit to the DPRK send to the outside world, and why did the Yoon Suk-yeol government choose this time to request dialogue with the Chinese side?
As the deterioration of inter-Korean relations accelerates, and the two countries turn from "homogeneous" to "mortal enemies," South Korea and its allies have never stopped suppressing North Korea. At the Security Council meeting held at the end of March, 13 countries endorsed the draft resolution submitted by the United States on the extension of the mandate of the expert group of experts of the DPRK sanctions committee. Although Russia, one of the P5, exercised its veto power and the resolution was not passed, this does not mean that Western countries will stop putting pressure and sanctions on North Korea.
At the collective meeting of the UN General Assembly held on April 11, countries debated Russia's veto of the Security Council's resolution on North Korea. In the face of the pressure of Western countries, China, which had previously abstained from voting, responded again. Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, pointed out that the world is already chaotic enough, and the peninsula must not be chaotic again. A peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula conforms to the common interests of countries in the region and the common expectations of the international community.
Geng Shuang stressed that in order to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue, all parties must not pursue their own absolute security at the expense of the security of other countries, and if the security concerns of all parties, especially the DPRK side, are not resolved, then it will be difficult for the Peninsula to truly get out of its security predicament. From the above statements, we can see that China has always been committed to promoting peace talks and promoting a politicized settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, and does not want to follow the old path of pressure and confrontation, which will further deteriorate the regional situation out of control.
Just as Geng Shuang said, if we fail to adhere to the direction of political settlement, give play to the constructive role of the Security Council, and fail to fulfill the principle of "action for action," it is very likely that the situation on the Korean Peninsula will fall back into tension. On the contrary, pushing the DPRK and the ROK to return to the negotiating table and move in the same direction will be more conducive to easing the situation on the peninsula. There are all kinds of indications that China is not only saying this, but also doing it.
At a time when relations between the DPRK and the ROK are continuing to be tense, the Chinese representative arrived in the DPRK by special plane and attended the opening ceremony of the "China-DPRK Friendship Year." Judging from the information issued by the Korean Central News Agency, the Chinese delegation held talks with Choe Ryong-hae, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. During the visit, the two sides reached consensus on deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and promoting the further development of the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK, and exchanged views on the international and regional situation and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
It can be seen from this that the sincerity of cooperation shown by the Chinese side shows that China-DPRK relations have not been affected by the deterioration of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In the words of Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, that is, China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and the fact that China has sent a high-level delegation to visit the DPRK upon invitation is a manifestation of the profound friendship between the two countries and the great importance that China attaches to China-DPRK relations. Of course, the Chinese side also took advantage of this visit to send an important signal to the outside world, that is, replacing confrontation and pressure with communication and cooperation is the right way to enhance exchanges and avoid the deterioration of bilateral relations, and to promote the proper settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue, it is necessary to strive to promote peace talks.
It is worth mentioning that at the critical moment when China-DPRK relations are steadily warming up, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in the deep crisis of "losing the election", has also shown his desire to communicate and dialogue with the Chinese side. According to the South Korean presidential office, the South Korean side is discussing the promotion of a trilateral summit between China, Japan, and the ROK, and is striving to hold a meeting in South Korea in May. According to people familiar with the matter, the summit is likely to discuss economic cooperation and region-related issues.
Some analysts believe that the reason why the Yoon Suk-yeol government is eager to seek dialogue with the Chinese side is largely because the ruling party, which has suffered a crushing defeat in the congressional election, is eager to stabilize the domestic and international situation and avoid a further collapse of the Yoon Suk-yeol government's approval rating. You must know that after the big victory of the opposition parties, the South Korean prime minister, the secretary of the presidential office and other high-level officials collectively resigned, which brought considerable trouble to Yoon Suk-yeol. If we fail to stabilize the outside world at this time, there is a possibility that even greater changes will occur in South Korean politics.