ID :
204735
Thu, 09/01/2011 - 13:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204735
The shortlink copeid
Professor: N. Korea-China pact on intervention is a dead letter
(ATTN: CLARIFIES 4 para with text of treaty)
By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- A bilateral pact between North Korea and China calling for automatic intervention in case of a military conflict has become virtually invalid with the end of the Cold War, a Chinese scholar claimed Thursday.
The two allies signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in 1961, obligating China to defend North Korea against aggression.
Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said in a paper released ahead of a forum in Seoul on Thursday that the treaty has been a completely dead letter for two decades following the end of the Cold War.
The treaty says it will remain in force until the two sides agree on its amendment or termination. Chinese state television reported in July that the treaty will remain in effect until 2021 after being automatically renewed in 1981 and 2001.
Zhu, however, said China has switched its priority to South Korea over North Korea over the past 20 years in terms of Chinese political, economic and strategic interest on the Korean Peninsula. He also predicted that the trend is unlikely to change as China expands its economic ties with South Korea.
China sent hundreds of thousands of troops to North Korea to fight against South Korea and the U.S.-led U.N. forces during the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
China is the North's last remaining ally and key economic benefactor, though it has established diplomatic ties with South Korea and the United States. The world's second-largest economy has also become a top trading partner for South Korea and the United States.
By Kim Kwang-tae
SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- A bilateral pact between North Korea and China calling for automatic intervention in case of a military conflict has become virtually invalid with the end of the Cold War, a Chinese scholar claimed Thursday.
The two allies signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in 1961, obligating China to defend North Korea against aggression.
Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University, said in a paper released ahead of a forum in Seoul on Thursday that the treaty has been a completely dead letter for two decades following the end of the Cold War.
The treaty says it will remain in force until the two sides agree on its amendment or termination. Chinese state television reported in July that the treaty will remain in effect until 2021 after being automatically renewed in 1981 and 2001.
Zhu, however, said China has switched its priority to South Korea over North Korea over the past 20 years in terms of Chinese political, economic and strategic interest on the Korean Peninsula. He also predicted that the trend is unlikely to change as China expands its economic ties with South Korea.
China sent hundreds of thousands of troops to North Korea to fight against South Korea and the U.S.-led U.N. forces during the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
China is the North's last remaining ally and key economic benefactor, though it has established diplomatic ties with South Korea and the United States. The world's second-largest economy has also become a top trading partner for South Korea and the United States.
