China’s North Korea Gamble: Live With a Nuclear Kim, Risk a Nuclear South Korea

China’s North Korea Gamble: Live With a Nuclear Kim, Risk a Nuclear South Korea

Key Points and Summary – China’s new disarmament and arms-control white paper pointedly omits any commitment to North Korean denuclearization, confirming what Beijing’s behavior has signaled for years: it prefers a nuclear-armed “buffer” state over real pressure on Pyongyang. For decades, China shielded North Korea from meaningful sanctions and never imposed serious costs after nuclear tests, allowing Kim’s arsenal to expand outside any arms-con…