Big brother
December 19, 2011
"We are shocked to learn that DPRK top leader comrade Kim Jong-il passed away and we hereby express our deep condolences on his demise and send sincere regards to the DPRK people," Liu Weimin from the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.
He added that he hoped North Koreans would "remain united" and promised to help maintain "peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region."
He said nothing about the designated heir Kim Jong-un, however. Nor did he answer any questions on the matter.
What is clear, said Professor Shi Yinhong from the People's University of China in Beijing, is that the Chinese government is worried about instability in the neighboring country. "It is important that there is a smooth transition of power and that stability is maintained." But what is "completely unclear," is the political direction the country will take in future.
"Kim Jong-il never dared take the risk of introducing real reforms," he adds. "The country has never really opened up and we cannot tell if this will change in future. The longer it takes, however, the greater the political risk will be."
A buffer state
Big brother China has always been North Korea's most important ally, regularly supplying its poorer isolated neighbor with fuel and food. In the past 18 months, Kim Jong-il, who rarely went abroad otherwise, visited China four times, even taking his son Kim Jong-un along. Economic questions headed the agenda each time. In the first seven months of this year, the bilateral trade volume hit over three billion US dollars according to official figures - a huge increase in comparison to the previous year.
China is likely to stand by North Korea because, despite expressing cautious criticism of its nuclear program, it considers the communist state an important buffer against the US and its regional allies.
Furthermore, Beijing does not want to see tens of thousands of North Korean refugees crossing the over 1000-meter-long shared border if the regime does collapse.
Author: Ruth Kirchner / act
Editor: Sarah Berning