The Six Party Talks: A Chinese Perspective

Abstract

The Six Party Talks on North Korean nuclear issues have been ongoing since August 2003. They have not prevented North Korea from having nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, the goal to denuclearize the Korean peninsula has been agreed upon by all six countries, including North Korea. Whether these talks will reach that goal is unclear and uncertain. However, the talks have brought the six countries, or at least the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Russia, closer in terms of regional security. All six have agreed to an official dialogue on a multilateral security cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia. This dialogue is useful and encouraging. Key words: Chinese foreign policy in Korea, North Korea, nuclear weapons, multilateral security - East Asia Introduction The Six Party Talks (SPT) among the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), China, Japan, and Russia have been going on for five years-since they started in August 2003. The process has failed to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons; North Korea conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. However, all six parties in the process including the DPRK have committed themselves to the goal of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.1 Thus, there is hope that the SPT can be successful in reaching that final goal. The Chinese Government's View of the SPT Since the inception of the Six Party Talks in 2003, the Chinese government and its leadership have considered the SPT one of the major issues in Chinese foreign policy. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Communist Party's Liaison Department, and top Chinese leaders have paid intense attention to the SPT and made tremendous efforts to support the process. Indeed, there are few foreign policy or foreign relations issues in which the Chinese leadership has been more deeply involved. Both President Jiang Zemin and President Hu Jintao have been personally involved in the SPT, talking with North Korean and other countries' leaders, and writing personal letters to Kim Jong Il, the DPRK leader.2 The Chinese government has even made certain commitments to the SPT process and its final goal of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula that could damage its close bilateral relations with the DPRK if the latter does not continue to participate in the process. Because the Chinese government and its leadership have been involved so deeply, the SPT has become an important element in China's own foreign policy and diplomacy. The success or failure of the SPT is and will become a Chinese foreignpolicy and diplomatic success or failure. There are several reasons behind the deep commitment of the Chinese government and its leadership to the SPT. One of them is historical: China traditionally considers the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia areas in which China has direct interests. Thus, it has to be involved in order to promote an outcome favorable to China. Second, as China continues to rise, it is accepting more international responsibility for economic development and peace and security in Asia and the world.3 Moreover, the Korean peninsula borders China and thus, this international responsibility must first and foremost be focused on neighboring areas. The third reason is the improvement in Sino-U.S. relations since the summer of 2001 when the two countries put the EP-3 incident (in which a Chinese jet and a U.S. surveillance aircraft collided, resulting in the death of the Chinese pilot and the forced landing of the U.S. crew) behind them. Because their bilateral relations are relatively good and the United States has acted favorably toward China in some matters, especially concerning the Taiwan issue, China feels it needs to reciprocate. This is all the more so because the United States has been pushing China since 2002 to play a key role regarding the North Korean nuclear issue. …