China, North Korea Confirm Ties Following Rocket Test

Chinese President Hu Jintao visited with a top North Korean official on Monday to reaffirm traditional ties between the two nations. The visit in Beijing came just 10 days after Pyongyang botched an attempt to test launch a rocket.

During the meeting, Hu sent congratulations to Kim Jong-un for being named the Workers’ Party first secretary. He also said that strengthening ties between Beijing and Pyongyang is a key priority for China’s ruling Communists.

Kim responded later on Monday, saying that North Korea wishes to “develop the traditional dprk-China friendship provided and cultivated by the leaders of elder generations of the two countries.”

Also on Monday, North Korea’s military said it is planning to launch “special actions” that will destroy the administration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The statement said these “actions” would last 3 to 4 minutes and be carried out by “unprecedented peculiar means.” Meanwhile, intelligence shows that North Korea is digging a tunnel to prepare for the nation’s third nuclear test.

Beijing has used this high-profile reception of the North Korean delegation to show its dedication to Pyongyang. This comes in spite of North Korea’s threats to annihilate South Korea, its deplorable human rights record, its refusal to take on economic reforms, and its ongoing nuclear weapons program.

Beijing has criticized some of Pyongyang’s actions, but it has opposed any attempt by the United Nations to impose new sanctions on the rogue state for its missile program and its nuclear program. With China maintaining its role as Pyongyang’s protector, it is unlikely that the United States or any other nation will take decisive action against North Korea’s illegal nuclear development. As ties between Beijing and Pyongyang strengthen, China will increasingly use erratic North Korea as a proxy to intimidate its Asian neighbors and to antagonize the West.