Francis Fukuyama tells about a significant event that I never heard about.
In 2003, the United States was insisting on six-party
talks with North Korea. We succeeded in
getting the talks arranged because China forced North Korea to accept the
six-party terms. China cut off the
North Korean power supplies for two days.
It looks like the North Korean nuclear issue is really the China issue. China is less concerned about nukes and more concerned about maintaining stability in North Korea. Stability triumphs over everything.
Trouble is, the Japanese elite is using the North Korean nukes as a reason for nuclear arming of Japan. The Diet already has close to a majority vote in favor of nukes. China may be playing this game wrong. A nuclear Japan is in nobody’s interest.