South-North Reconciliation and Prospects for North Korea-China Relations

This article contends that China is now playing a more active role in encouraging the independent, peaceful unification of the two Koreas. China helped to coordinate the June 2000 summit talks and encouraged North Korea to adopt economic reforms and opening policies. China could do that because it has developed strong political and economic ties with both North Korea and South Korea since the late 1990s. However, despite the partnership between China and the two Koreas, and despite the promising future of independent, peaceful unification, there may be turbulence ahead in the Korean peninsula in the near future because of the changing administration in the United States.