PRC and DPRK

     The People's Republic of China (PRC or China) is historically tied to Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).  When I say historically, I don't mean only going back to 1950 when PRC's 8th Route Army crossed the Yalu to help North Korea fend off U.S. and its allies, the UN forces that had pushed all the way up north.  Sixty six years ago when that took place, North Korea had initially invaded the south with the blessing and support of Stalin and the Soviet Union.  However, when things turned sour and the combined U.S./UN forces had decimated the North Korean forces and pushed them all the way to the Chinese border, the Soviet Union abandoned them and did nothing to help.  China, however, stepped in to help out its North Korean neighbor and bail it out of its disastrous predicament by pushing the U.S./UN forces back south, ultimately fighting to a stalemate which brought about the Panmunjom Cease Fire and the current state of affairs.  The Soviet Union did pitch-in a bit, mainly in the form of providing some MIG15 fighter jets and pilots, but that was the extent of it.  China actually put boots on the ground and became the majority ground force for the communists!
     As it has been said many times before, there is no conclusion to the Korean War, only a cease fire agreement that theoretically can be broken any time, and it has been broken periodically!  To compound the situation, North Korea's Minister for North American Affairs announced publicly on July 29th of this year that a state of war exists between North Korea and the United States!  So, a state of war not only has existed for the past 66 years, but has been formally declared on July 29th!  The situation on the Korean peninsula could not be any more volatile than it is today.  Yet, for some unaccountable reason, our government and all of the "experts" in Washington seem to take the whole thing very lightly.  Our government seems to be far more concerned with situations in other parts of the world and Korea has been shunted to the back burner.  The feeling seems to be that nothing has happened in the past 66 years except for some occasional fire fights on the DMZ, so despite all the threats, missile firing and nuclear testing by North Korea, there is nothing to fear, or so it seems to Washington.
     China has always been in the background of Korea in one form or another.  During the Chosen Dynasty Korea was a tributary state of China, as it was even during the previous Koryo Dynasty.  China had always maintained a relationship with Korea through commerce, as well as military support when needed.  China has always supported the faction in Korea that was sympathetic to their cause.  Today, that would be North Korea.  South Korea on the other hand, is not only an economic competitor, but a military threat as well while North Korea has become sort of like a tributary state of old!  This relationship has existed for centuries, going back thousands of years!
     The earliest known Korean kingdom called Gojosun (actually pronounced Ko-chosun) dates back to 2333 BC. It was a pretty large kingdom that occupied not only the Korean peninsula but a good portion of what is known as Manchuria today.  The territory would increase or shrink through the years according to the wars it fought until China decided that Gojosun was too much of a threat and Han Dynasty defeated the kingdom and made it a tributary state in 108 BC.  However, the Koreans rose up again and in 37 BC established the great Koguryo Empire.  Koguryo not only regained all of Gojosun's former territory but actually increased it into a huge empire encompassing all of present day Manchuria as well as parts of Siberia and eastern China.  Koguryo was by far the most powerful and largest Korean Empire in history and it lasted from 37 BC until 668 AD.  In 668 AD, a smaller Korean kingdom in the south called Silla first defeated all of its smaller neighbors including Paekche to the west, then allied itself with China (Tang Dynasty) and attacked Koguryo from north and south, defeating it.  As payment for its help, China received all of Manchuria and other northern territories and the new winner in the south went on to establish the Koryo Dynasty from which the name Korea has been taken by the outside world.
     Since that time, Korea, regardless of the dynasty, paid tribute to China.  China, on the other hand, was conquered by Jurchen tribes in 12th Century who established the Jin Dynasty.  In 13th Century China was conquered by Mongols who established the Yuan Dynasty.  Then in the 17th Century the Jurchens who now called themselves Manchus, once again conquered China and established the Ching Dynasty which lasted until 1912 in the early 20th Century.  Throughout this period in history, Korea went with the tide, so-to-speak.  Whatever the case may be, Korea ended up being a surrogate for China whenever China needed someone to do their bidding.  It was mostly in the form of providing troops for China and the many wars that it fought.
     Now, we fast forward and find ourselves in the 21st Century.  What has changed?  China is still the big, powerful state in Asia, a player on the world scene and Korea is fractured into two parts, one in the north and one in the south.  Sort of like it was during the three Kingdom Period when there were Koguryo, Silla and Paekche, and China helped Silla to conquer the bigger and stronger Koguryo.  North Korea today is Silla of the historical past.  We should never forget that historical tie between China and Korea and how China always supported a faction in Korea that was advantageous to them.  Today, that would be North Korea!
     All of the "experts" say that without China's input, without China's influence, there can be no peace between North and South Korea and there certainly cannot be any nuclear agreement.  Guess what?  China does not want peace or unification of the two Koreas, China does not want a nuclear agreement that would curb North Korea's bomb development.  They like things just as they are!  There may not have been nuclear weapons in the past, but this situation has existed before and China always supported whatever side helped their standing in the world!
     There seems to be an attitude, a feeling in America that China is no longer the threat that it used to be like back in the 1950s and 60s, before Kissinger and Nixon sold Taiwan down the river and drank Chinese brandy with Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai.  China may not be a direct, military threat anymore, but it certainly is a political and economic threat, to which, sadly, we are not paying any attention.  China will, or at least seems to be on track, to take over the world economically.  They don't need to conquer any territory militarily, although their military is getting bigger and stronger daily, while ours is shrinking!  For their dirty work, they have North Korea.  North Korea with its unpredictable, belligerent behavior keeps the attention off China.  It keeps South Korea and Japan occupied and worried with building their defenses, their military, and it keeps our attention away from China!  As wacky and weird and dangerous North Korea and its leader may be, they will not do anything without China's approval.  China is their lifeline, China is the country that keeps them alive amid the economic sanctions.  They may be crazy, but they are not so crazy as to cut off their own livelihood and food supply by going against the wishes of China.  China calls the shots!
     For some reason we, and our "experts" refuse to see what is right before our eyes.  We refuse to recognize the fact that despite all the threats and vitriolic language, North Korea will not do anything without China's go-ahead.  But, at this point we are so tied to China economically, so dependent on their products which make up the bulk of our consumer goods, that we refuse to acknowledge what is obvious.  The relationship that exists between China and North Korea is classic, something that you can find took place from time to time historically going back thousands of years!  So, if the shooting starts on the Korean Peninsula, you can blame it on that crazy Kim Jong Un or one of his generals, but you can bet that they did it with China's approval and perhaps even prompting!