By CGTN's Keerqinfu
China is changing its once supportive attitude towards the DPRK after several nuclear and missile tests, which have escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The question being asked now is why China would back the DPRK up for half century, and now start to change its stance.
Shen Yamei, deputy director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies explained why a long and profound friendship is now starting to unravel.
“The high expectations of traditional friendship between the two countries have not met reality. Because we used to be a long time Cold War ally, we have a blood-cemented friendship that came into being during the war. However, in the succession of nuclear and missile tests, China’s words seem to be falling on deaf ears.”
Saibal Dasgupta, correspondent from the Times of India, analyzed the considerations of China facing such a complex situation on the Korean Peninsula. He believes the issue goes way beyond the DPRK itself.
"The issue is larger than the DPRK. In case there is a real war, a military strike by the US or anything like that, the debris will fall on China's backyard, and in fact inside China as well. So the other countries are very far out, it is China which has to consider several things. One is the impact on its borders, the other is the refugee problem."
James Edward Hoare, a British academic and expert on Korea, also pointed out that the high expectations put on China to solve this problem are unrealistic, adding that it would be extremely difficult to restart negotiations.
Talking about returning to talks, Hoare said "it's very hard to go back. History teaches you all sorts of strange lessons, and one of them is that you can't just go back to an earlier stage and start all over again."
