Early this year, a newspaper published by China’s ruling Communist Party, reported growing calls among Chinese citizens to put pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
The paper said that a growing number of Chinese, both elites and ordinary citizens, regard Pyongyang as a burden to Beijing rather than an old friend.
It pointed out that “changes in public opinion are altering the external environment of China’s policy on North Korea and can be converted into pressure that pushes the Chinese government to ramp up sanctions against Pyongyang.”
Further, it issued a warning that the more China’s policy departs from public opinion, the more political costs it has to pay.
And the Chinese government appears to be following the pressure from inside. The country has recently submitted an action plan -- reportedly in mid or late June -- on how to implement its sanctions against the North in tandem with the ongoing global efforts to punish the communist country for conducting its nuclear and missile tests earlier this year.
The U.N. Security Council in March asked the 193 member countries to draw up their own plans on how to enforce the sanctions on the North under its latest resolution adopted in the aftermath of the North’s provocations.
Though China missed the deadline of June 2, the submission was much faster than in 2013 when it took Beijing about seven months to send in its implementation report in connection with a UNSC resolution.
At issue is whether China is willing to publicize the content. A country’s action plan is not made public if the country does not wish to reveal it.
Earlier this month, China’s commerce ministry announced a decision to add about 40 items to the list of items banned for export to Pyongyang. The ministry reiterated that the decision was part of efforts to implement the latest U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution.
Last week, North Korea again test-fired two mid-range ballistic missiles Wednesday. The communist country managed to fly its intermediate-range ballistic missile for some 400 kilometers for the first time.
There is little possibility of the Kim Jong-un regime scrapping its nuclear weapons development at least as long as China tolerates it. Its submission should be the turning point of the Chinese government, as its citizens demand.
