China has begun posturing.
China Rules Out Using Sanctions on North Korea - New York Times: "Liu Jianchao, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday that China rejected suggestions that it should reduce oil or food shipments to North Korea, calling them part of its normal trade with its neighbor that should be separate from the nuclear problem. 'The normal trade flow should not be linked up with the nuclear issue,' he said. 'We oppose trying to address the problem through strong-arm tactics.'"
This is expected and normal when it comes to diplomatic bartering. They dig in their heels and leave no apparent room to maneuver. We do the same and everybody repeats themselves until one side starts to budge. Likely the Chinese want something in return like, oh I don't know, Taiwan. We would like them to stop being Communists/Fascists. More than likely we'll meet somewhere in the middle. Look for increased Chinese pressure but not enough to cripple or topple the regime. Most of the Norks changes will be window dressing to keep up appearances. They will maintain their bravado (and face) regionally and domestically by claiming to have "stared down the imperialist running dog lackeys" or some such. They will follow that with lukewarm statements about their Chinese "socialist neighbors". This will continue for a while until we either get the UN Resolution we want or go around them.
China Rules Out Using Sanctions on North Korea - New York Times: "Liu Jianchao, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Tuesday that China rejected suggestions that it should reduce oil or food shipments to North Korea, calling them part of its normal trade with its neighbor that should be separate from the nuclear problem. 'The normal trade flow should not be linked up with the nuclear issue,' he said. 'We oppose trying to address the problem through strong-arm tactics.'"
This is expected and normal when it comes to diplomatic bartering. They dig in their heels and leave no apparent room to maneuver. We do the same and everybody repeats themselves until one side starts to budge. Likely the Chinese want something in return like, oh I don't know, Taiwan. We would like them to stop being Communists/Fascists. More than likely we'll meet somewhere in the middle. Look for increased Chinese pressure but not enough to cripple or topple the regime. Most of the Norks changes will be window dressing to keep up appearances. They will maintain their bravado (and face) regionally and domestically by claiming to have "stared down the imperialist running dog lackeys" or some such. They will follow that with lukewarm statements about their Chinese "socialist neighbors". This will continue for a while until we either get the UN Resolution we want or go around them.
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