Katie Cassidy, Sky News Online
China is ready to distance itself from North Korea and accept reunification with the South, according to more leaked diplomatic documents.
Amid the cables obtained by WikiLeaks are details about Beijing's frustration with its Communist neighbour.
The Guardian, which is one of the newspapers given direct access to the leaked information, reports senior Chinese officials regard Pyongyang as a "spoiled child".
One senior Chinese diplomat is said to have told an American ambassador that younger generation Communist party leaders no longer regarded North Korea as a useful or reliable ally.
Furthermore, Beijing anticipates the regime will collapse after the death of current leader Kim Jong-Il.
Sky's security editor Sam Kiley said the revelation was sensational.
"Up until now WikiLeaks has told us things we could assume - but this is explosive," he said.
"This is Chinese officials talking to American diplomats, describing North Korea - a close ally that the Chinese have been supporting for decades and supported in a war with the UN - as a 'spoilt child'.
"They also refer to North Korea's nuclear capability as potentially destabilising to world peace.
"This effectively puts the Chinese very much in the American camp in terms of their analysis, at least.
"It is an enormous shift from China's public position, which has supported North Korea, to their private position in talks with American officials
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment