Rifts and Binds: Assessing North Korea-China Relations

John Park of Harvard Belfer Center, one of the nation’s most eminent Korea analysts, speaks to relations between Pyongyang and Beijing, with an eye to emerging fault lines and areas of continued commitment. Park explores the paradox of the DPRK’s reliance on the PRC for fuel and foodstuff and quest for strategic diversity and self-reliance. He weighs signals by Xi Jinping and potential new balancing following the year’s first ever visit by a Chinese President to Seoul over Pyongyang.