Monday, February 2, 2004

What follows is pure speculation: North Korea is behaving badly. The U.S. looks to China, South Korea, and Japan for help in dealing with the North. In the absence of reasonable negotiations, the only Four options to cope with the North are: Give in to North Korean demands (which only encourages them, and postpones the problem.) Confront the North aggressively (decapitation strike?) Get the Chinese to exert pressure just wall off the North and wait for the inevitable collapse. China frequently declares that it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. (Unlike the U.S., which has turned this into an art (the modern, abstract messy kind.) BUT, China doesn't have a problem interfering (or threatening to intefere) with other nations on its borders if it can declare that those nations are in fact historically a part of China. (Tibet, Taiwan, Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands.) (And let's not forget the "punitive" (punishing) attacks made by China into Vietnam in 1979.) China has been funding the"Northeast Progress"project, a state sponsored development effort in the North Eastern region of China. Part of this project includes a research project to prove that the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (Kokuryo) was historically part of China. The Guangming Ribao, a daily scholarly publication of the Chinese Communist Party, claimed that "Goguryeo is part of China." (Have you heard this line before? Hint: "Taiwan is part of China") Goguryeo is one of the historic kingdoms from which Korea draws its lineage. In fact the "Go" or "Ko" in Goguryeo / Kokuryo is what puts the "Ko" in "Korea". Historically, Goguryeo occupied a territory that spanned both Northern Korea and large parts of North East China / Manchuria. Some Chinese emperors may have had bloodlines traced back to royalty in Goguryeo (but then again, European royal bloodlines were extensively mixed...) Goguryeo is part of China. North Korea was part of Goguryeo. E.G. DPRK is part of China. In the event of a DPRK collapse, or outbreak of hostilities between North and South (and therefore U.S.) - China could stake the claim to pick up the pieces, based on history. For a more restrained view, see this AATimes opinion piece 5:27:05 PM      comment

© Copyright 2004 John W. Williams II. Last update: 11/5/04; 1:15:08 PM.